Our health depends on changing from our current habits

 
 
 
 
 
By Mavis Fodness
A grassroots movement is taking place to develop activities that get us up off the couch in Rock County.
We hope more of this catches on.
Kayaking down the Rock River, boating and swimming at a former gravel pit were some of the activities demonstrated last week. Not only did they seem fun, the activities burned a lot of calories.
The Southwest Health and Human Services recently released its Community Health Improvement Plan or CHIP. For the next five years the staff of the six-county agency will focus on improving the health of area residents.
However, the SWHHS staff cannot make meaningful impacts in our lives without our help.
“It needs to be a community initiative,” said Carol Biren, SWHHS public health director.
The agency identified the top ten leading causes of death among our residents, and heart disease was ranked at No. 1.
Also at No. 1 is Rock County, who now leads southwest Minnesota in the percentage of its population stricken by heart attacks, according to the release of the 2014 Community Health Assessment. With 47.5 percent of the heart attack hospitalizations per 10,000 people, ages 35 and older, Rock County needs to take steps to lower this number.
Besides getting out and moving more, we also have to work on eating healthier, and that could start in the workplace, Biren advocated.
SWHHS found in their study that the workplace is one area where healthy eating habits have taken a backseat in recent years.
In is common for employees to bring sweet treats, loaded with fattening carbohydrates, to work. Adding to our poor choices are vending machines loaded with sugary and salty snacks. Both have contributed to the girths of Rock County adults and children.
While SWHHS wasn’t able to calculate a specific assessment for Rock County adults, a Body Mass Index (BMI) for the other five member counties placed 38.9 percent of our population as overweight and 33.7 percent were obese. That places more than half of our neighbors at risk for chronic diseases.
For our children, SWHHS was able to assess our Rock County ninth-graders in 2013, whose BMI was calculated at 37, an average considerably higher than the state’s (23) and the region’s (29) averages.
Healthy easting habits and physical activity are the primary ways a person can maintain a healthy weight.
It all begins with a change in our thinking, no matter how miniscule.
Instead of choosing chips and candy from vending machines, seek out a healthier alternative. Instead of bringing sweet treats to share at work, try fresh fruits or vegetables.
Seek out different food choices and pressure ourselves to think about what’s best for our diets.
As Biren put it, “It’s the little changes that make big impacts.”