By Amy Moss Strong
Editor
Monday, February 08, 2010 |
Heart disease is the number one cause of death in the United States. Coos County has the highest incidence of lung cancer in the state, as well as ranking among the highest counties for the prevalence of diabetes.
Why should you care about those statistics? Because all three of those conditions can be controlled or even eliminated through nutrition or lifestyle changes.
The Southern Coos Health District is taking a proactive approach to helping residents make such changes. As a taxpayer-funded district, it should invest in keeping people healthy.
Passport to Chronic Wellness is a yearlong program organized by the district’s community health office, offering monthly health education talks at the library and other venues.
The district has made a commitment to pursuing wellness. Bandon residents would do well to make the same commitment.
Becoming healthier isn’t as difficult as people may think. While losing weight may seem an impossible task (yes, it is hard), just adding more exercise or making slight changes in your diet can make a huge difference.
Attending talks and other activities planned by the Health District can give the extra support that leads to success. In addition to the talks, there will be the annual women’s health day this month, men’s health day in April and diabetes walk in May.
It’s nice to know that although the hospital potentially gains from people who suffer from illnesses, it’s investing time and effort into trying to lead the way to a healthier overall population.
What’s even better, the Passport to Wellness program isn’t costing the district anything, since it’s being paid for by a grant in collaboration with the Southern Coos Health Foundation.
Though it may seem overwhelming to tackle those weight issues, smoking habits or sedentary lifestyle, the path to wellness starts with baby steps. Small changes add up exponentially when it comes to your health.
For several years, Southern Coos has taken the lead in promoting a healthy lifestyle and each year more programs and activities are added.
There’s no better time than now to follow that lead.
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