20 - Wednesday, September 23, 1992 — North Shore News
TheerAnswersetoeBettersHealth
How Well Did You Do?

omen Take
- Better Care of

_ Their Health
_ A ten-item health practices
be ‘scale was developed as a sum-
mary of overall health prac-

* tices: The: overall population.
had an average of 7:1 favor-
cable health practices. 49% of -

women had good health
practices (8 or more favorable
health practices, ie: do not :
-smioke: ‘Cigarettes, eat break-
/ fast, exercise, etc.), whereas
“only 24% of men had geod _
health practices.

Alef the. a
‘Above a
Men need t ta.be
-encouraged to :

breast self-examinations..
While: women 65.and older
n the North Shore survey

the ounger age groups,
‘all age groups.can benefit :
from getting. into a regular mt
foutine of BSE, since breast
cancer. is among the top caus-
: f premature death among
qo ‘women. -

a, Men Tend to

Be More

Overweight

Women more than
men tended to be an accept-
able weight or underweight.
Men more than women tend-
ed to be overweighs.

25% Want te be

Underweight

A disturbing find-.

ing was the propor-
tion of women who wanted to
weigh less than a healthy
weight. The findings indicate
that many women under 36
years of age may pursue body
weights and images thar do not!

" promote good health.

d. All of the Above
’ "The six most com-_
mon cases of death

on the North Shore

_ are Heart Disease, Cancer,

Surokes, Pneumonia & Influ-
enza, Chronic Obstructive

. Lung, Disease and accidents.

“¢. Heart Disease
Heart Disease is the
” leading cause of

pre-mature death.
But it is sad to nove-that acci-
dents (because they often -
involve. young men) ultimately
result in more potential years
of life lost.

b. Cancer
. The leading cause
of premature death
in women: is cancer.

Mountains,
Water, Beaches
54% like living

‘on the North Shore because

of the ambience and atmo-
sphere of being close to natu-
ral amenities like mountains,
water and beaches.

a. Yes,
Homeowners
are Healthier
43% of home.

owners had good health prac-
tices compared with 33% of
renters with good health prac-
tices. North Shore rental
prices are currently some of
the highest in Canada.
Consequently the need for
affordable housing was a need
identified by 27%.

b. Traffic:
Congestion ~
_ The number one
issue that needs
to be addressed to make the
North Shore a better place to
live is traffic congestion and
lack of public transit. North
Shore residents could also be”
more courteous drivers as we

_ have a higher than average’

rate of “failure to yield”
infractions.

a “Heaith for all means that people will realize that they have the power to shape

: their own lives and the lives of their families, free from the burden of avoidable disease

. and aware that ill health is not inevitable. it means that health begins at home,

in schools and at work, and that people will find better ways to

2 ‘prevent disease and alleviate unavoidable disease and disability.”

Health For All-By Year 2000 Report

COHSOSOHSHOSEOTOSSHHESOSOCOHHOHO SO HESESOEHSOROROSOOOCOSRECED

North*Shore*Health

An indicator

of community

well-being (a sense
that community members care
about each other) is the pro-
portion of the community.
members who provide volun-
teer service. Almost half
(49%) said they had volun-
teered in the last year.

However, older (over 50) and -

younger (under 30) adults vol-
unteered less frequently than
did 30 - 49 year olds.

b. 40% Substance
- Abuse ;
A North Shore.

substance abuse study found

that as high as 40% of all
health and social service...
+ encounters had a correlated’ *

aicohol and/or drug problem.
‘associated with them. oe

. Statistics from Lions Gate
Hospital indicate as s high’ as
50% of emergency’ room visits
"have a correlated substance’
abuse problem and 24% of

_ non-emergency admissions -
also have a significant. alcohol
_ problem. os . Le

’ ¢. Binge Drinking

44% drink more -°>

_ frequently on -

. certain days and:
25% on special occasions. In”
addition 18% said they had- :
“used alcchol i in the past few
 ygars to help cope with life or.
‘to forget problems.

e. - 40% Stop -
“Smoking. _
A very encour- .
aging finding
was the 40% of the North
Shore respondents said thar.

they had stopped smoking.

Encouraging .
2 people to ride -

bicycles may be
a way of promoting a “healthy
community” since riding bikes:
is both a source of exercise _
and a way to reduce automo-
bile emissions. Currently, over
50% of people use bikes, but
only 22% said all family mem-
bers wear helmets. From a
safety point of view, wearing a
helmet has been proven to _
reduce or eliminate the sever-
ity of head injuries sustained .
in bike accidents.

Kno w?

Asthma is the most
common cause of °..._
activity limitation in:
schooLaged children + ~
and is the. leading
cause of schoo!
absenteeism.

Depression i is the
most common cause
of hospitalization in‘

the 15-19 age group

Our population is ge
ting older. By the yea
2001 the median. a;
in North Vancouver.
(District and City)
will be 40 and in’

younger and yc
children,»

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