National Public Health Week

April 3rd – 9th • “Building a Healthier You & Community”

In recognition of Public Health Week, the Montgomery County Public Health team is providing tips and strategies on how to build a “Healthy Week”. In doing so, we hope this will inspire you to make one small change and continue your success throughout the remaining weeks of the New Year.

Making the “Healthy Choice” the Easy Choice

Why you should care
Chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and obesity are among the most common and costly health conditions impacting the nation’s health. As of 2012, about half of all U.S. adults were living with at least one chronic health condition. Such conditions account for seven out of every 10 deaths annually, while managing and treating chronic disease eats up more than three-quarters of the country’s health care costs. For example, in 2012, direct medical costs related to diabetes came to $176 billion, while lost productivity due to diabetes came to $69 billion. Chronic diseases are often entirely preventable. Far from being inevitable, chronic diseases are associated with unhealthy and risky behaviors. And those behaviors are often shaped by the environments in which we live, work, learn and play. That means there are a variety of innovative and proven ways to make it easier for people to adopt healthy behaviors, make healthier choices and prevent the onset of costly chronic diseases.

Join Montgomery County Public Health in helping “Build a Healthier You” and a “Healthy Community”

For an easy and fun way for everyone to get healthy, do one of these activities each day during National Public Health Week:

• Start an exercise program
• Focus on Health eating
• De-stress
• Increase your water intake. Are you drinking enough water?
• Healthy Screenings: Have you been screened for cancer, cholesterol or diabetes?

Anyone can join – everyone can have fun.

Sync your step counting device, smart phone, enter steps manually. Keep a journal.

Walk/Exercise as an individual, join a team or create your own team. Teams can be big or small – no limits on how many can join. It’s fun. It’s healthy. And it’s also a great platform to start a conversation about designing work and communities that promote healthy living for all. Visit use your local parks, use the paths and sidewalks. Use fun statistics to motivate yourself and teams as you track your progress towards a ‘Healthier You and Community”.