Health analysis: Residents should change habits

Wahkiakum County residents need to stop smoking, get more exercise, and eat more fruits and vegetables.

These are the conclusions health department officials presented to the county board of commissioners Tuesday.

Judy Bright, Health and Human Services director, and Dr. Jennifer Vines, deputy health officer presented an analysis of chronic disease risk factors in the county in the monthly board of health meeting on Tuesday.

"As our local community contemplates health care reform, it is important to remind ourselves of the major determinants of an individual's health--diet, physical activity and tobacco use," they said in a written report. "These factors play a far greater role in whether an individual is healthy than family history or environmental exposures."

"As the board of health, you are in the position to affect the health of a lot of people," Dr. Vines told the commissioners. "Prevention is thankless work, but it is important."

County government can support community health efforts by giving adequate funding and supporting efforts that are in place, she said.

Bright added that it takes a long time to make changes in a community's health patterns.

Overall, she said, Wahkiakum County residents closely follow state trends in health, but some specific factors put the county in the lower 25 percent of healthy counties statewide.

"Four out of five adults don't eat enough fruits and vegetables," she said. "Two out of five do not get enough exercise. One out of seven is a smoker, and one in 10 is exposed to cigarette smoke in the home."

These factors, she said, contribute to the fact that 25 percent of the county's adults are obese and may develop high blood pressure and high cholesterol, with one in 10 residents having had a heart attack, coronary artery disease or stroke or another chronic disease.

"We don't have good access to fresh fruit and vegetables," she said. Stores are limited, and few live in walking distance of them.

The health department and other agencies are making efforts to improve the situation, she said.

US Department of Agriculture food vouchers are being distributed to senior citizens. The Women, Infants and Children nutrition program now has vouchers to allow participants to buy vegetables at markets.

The health department, WIC, and other programs are teaming to offer the community garden in Cathlamet. The county has sponsored walking groups in the past and is resuming that activity.

The tobacco prevention program has been working hard for years with prevention programs for youth and stop smoking aid for adults. A new program is helping low income women gain access to breast and cervical exams.

"These are just a drop in the bucket of what needs to be done," Bright said.

Vines commented that the role of public health is to make health options available. Chronic disease from poor health habits is hugely expensive and adversely impacts people's quality of life, she said.

"We owe it to the next generation to make some efforts," she said.