National Public Health Week: April 2 - 8
A Healthier America Begins Today: Join the Movement The Evanston Health Department joins with communities all across the United States to recognize National Public Health Week in an effort to raise awareness of issues important to improving the public's health. The theme for 2012 is “A Healthier America Begins Today.”
“This year’s theme encourages us and our community to take preventive measures to help improve all of our lives," said Evonda Thomas, Evanston Health. "Little steps can lead to big changes."
The Evanston Health Department will highlight ways to improve the public’s health and will share the release of the Third Annual County Health Rankings Tuesday, April 3.
Each of the five daily themes chosen by the American Public Health Association for this year’s National Public Health Week (NPHW) campaign coincides with the cross-cutting components of our community improvement plan for Evanston:
- Stay active and eat healthy: Park a distance from the door of your destination and walk, take the stairs inside buildings or step away from the computer screen and take a walk outside. Aim for 60 minutes for children and 30 minutes for adults each day. Not being physically active is a primary reason for a third of adults being overweight or obese and one in six children and adolescents being obese.
- Choose less sugar and less fat in your foods: Reach for an apple instead of a brownie as a snack. Control portion sizes and do not eat mindlessly from a food container like a bag of chips. Consider a portion size being similar to the size of your fist. Fewer than 15 percent of adults and 10 percent of adolescents eat the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables each day.
- Live tobacco free, drug free and prevent alcohol abuse: Quit using all tobacco products and make your home smoke free. Each year more than 443,000 people die from tobacco use. Enjoy yourself at a gathering without binge drinking and make sure youths cannot access alcohol in your home. Nearly 80,000 people die each year from alcohol use.
- Prevent communicable diseases: Properly wash your food and hands before cooking to prevent the spread of bacteria and viruses. Most food poisoning is caused by bacteria, viruses and parasites rather than toxic substances in the food. Keep current on immunizations to protect yourself and those around you. Cover your cough and sneezes with a tissue or cough into the crook of your arm to prevent the spread of influenza, pertussis, TB and other communicable diseases. Keep communications open with your children about knowledge, values and attitudes toward sexuality and healthy relationships.
- Maintain mental and emotional well-being: Encourage children and adolescents to participate in extracurricular activities. Use positive parenting to reduce the emergence of child behavioral problems. Identify the signs of depression and suicide in others and refer them to appropriate assistance.
You can follow along on social media as the Health Department highlights individual priorities throughout the week. As the week unfolds learn the rich history of the Health Department! Follow us on Facebook or on Twitter @Evanston_Health for more on National Public Health Week you can visit our health Page at www.cityofevanston.org/health.