BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — According to the Office of Minority Health, African Americans are more at risk for heart disease, cancer, diabetes and asthma, a reality that pushed Travis Stewart to become a trainer, but most importantly, an advocate for health.
“They have a misconception in our community about what fitness is, so my job is to educate them; break those misconceptions,” said Stewart.
33-year-old, Travis Stewart, is a physical trainer, who’s been teaching the importance of health. He’s got well acquainted with the Baton Rouge community, and agrees on the disparities minorities often face.
“My ultimate goal is not just to get people in shape and work on their physical, but also work on their mindset, I want this to become a lifestyle,” said Stewart.
According to the Louisiana Healthcare Landscape (28%) of Black residents in Louisiana report being in fair or poor general health. This is compared to 19% of White residents and 14% of the Hispanic population.
In effort to change those numbers, Stewart has teamed up with East Baton Rouge schools, and several other local organizations. He also trains people on the proper way to workout.
Stewart says he’s happy to be celebrating his three-year mark and is proud to have helped push change on the topic of health and getting in shape.
“When you say a diet, you just want to cut out everything that’s kind of not feasible, but if you just start making small changes then overtime you get better and better,”