NL, the Unhealthiest Province

I'm sure we're all heard it from time to time. How NL has the highest rate of obesity, the unhealthiest diet, or the most inactivity in comparison to other Canadian provinces. Well now it's certainly official. Newfoundland and Labrador is the unhealthiest province in the country. It's all according to a release last week from the Conference Board of Canada's analysis of lifestyle factors among provincial populations. Well noted, was that there is significant room for most of us to improve on how we all take care of health. Ninety indicators were used to assess lifestyle factors and health status among others, and the analysis graded provinces individually on measured rates of health-related behaviours such as heavy drinking, smoking, fruit and vegetable consumption, physical activity, and overweight and obese adults. Our province scored the lowest provincially overall, and lowest provincially for each individual category, except for smoking, for which we were second last to Quebec.

So how can we make NL a healthier province? I do believe that change is possible, so if you are like me, believe me when I say we can make a different. We need to change the way we view our health, and healthy living in general. Just because the weather isn't great doesn't mean the excuse to not go out and exercise (go to the gym, or if you don't have a treadmill or bike at home, Google some workouts you can do). Because the fresh produce we get sometimes isn't the best isn't a good enough excuse for not eating fruits and vegetables (go for canned or frozen)! Sure, we may have some of these more unique challenges that province like BC don't likely face, or at least in the extremity we do. But living healthier certainly isn't impossible by any means. We need to empower ourselves and our fellow neighbour to get involved not only in their own health by eating better and moving more, but also in the political process and advocate for change at the community level. We need to continue to increase and build awareness around the lifestyle crisis facing our health care system, and demonstrate the value of health promotion to prevent chronic disease and their related risk factors. Let's influence political debate and encourage political party leaders, MPs and nominated candidates to prioritize focus on and investment in health promotion by making a phone call, sending a letter, or even tweeting (you see, similar to eating and activity above where you may think there is no opportunity, there is possibility for us to improve here too). We need to continue to keep focus and talk about pressing issues such as the importance of chronic disease prevention in NL, and current issues like childhood obesity, low fruit and vegetable consumption, and physical inactivity. Tired of always being compared to their western counterparts, about two years ago Ontario started campaigns to become the healthiest province in Canada. We can do the same! The most interesting and perhaps positive side to the upsetting and negative results of this study is that we are facing a health care crisis that is largely preventable. We can make a difference and that responsibility lies in each and every one of us. Don't think that because were failed this recent provincial lifestyle report card that's it not your problem. It's all our problem. We all need to work on our own individual habits to make ourselves healthier as individual, and work together to make our families, neighbours and communities healthier as a whole. Our health and the heath of future generations of this province depends on it.

The Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences in 2009 conducted nationwide research, literature reviews and consulted experts here at home and abroad to find answers to the question, what does it take to make a healthy province? Discovered were several different paths for leadership to a healthy population, but one interesting key finding was that healthier people and populations act promptly. They don't sit and wait around to see what others do. They act, and are often the first to implement an intervention. Make today your day to start a lifestyle intervention. Plan ahead for a week that includes vegetables daily on every supper plate. Make Sunday a day for the whole family to engage in fun physical activity together. Contact your local Kids Eat Smart club and volunteer to serve healthy meals to school aged kids, or your local SPCA and take a walk with some furry friends. It doesn't matter so much what you decide to do, but rather that we each decide on doing something today and not tomorrow.

As seen in The Telegram May 27, 2013