Tips for personal action for Public Health You can celebrate Public Health all month by doing new things to be healthy or reward and recommit yourself to actions you’ve already taken.  The following are tips to help you be active, eat smart and make your neighborhood a healthier place.

Be active!

Physical activity is good for every body and is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. In King County, almost half of adults don’t get enough physical activity.

There are many different ways to get the physical activity your body needs, and it doesn’t have to be strenuous to be good for you. Swimming, gardening, biking, dancing, yoga, walking, skating, mowing the lawn, doing housework, or playing catch - they all count! The important thing is that you find something you like to do and get started today.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Walk or bike to school or work
  • Washington State Department of Transportation bike to school information
  • Washington State Department of Transportation bike to work information
    
    
• Seniors can join a walking group
  • Zoo Walkers
    
  • Sound Steps Senior Walking Program
    
    
• Discover a great park in King County or find a recreation center near you and sign up for a class – there is something for every interest and skill level.

Algona	Maple Valley
Auburn	Medina
Bellevue	Mercer Island
Black Diamond	Newcastle
Bothell	North Bend
Burien	Pacific
Carnation	Redmond
Covington	Renton
Des Moines	Sammamish
Duvall	SeaTac
Enumclaw	Seattle
Federal Way	Shoreline
Issaquah	Skykomish
Kenmore	Snoqualmie
Kent	Tukwila
Kirkland	Woodinville
Lake Forest Park

Eat smart!

• Nutrition information
  Nutrition information can be confusing, but there are good resources available.  To answer your questions with trusted information, here are some nutrition websites:
  • MyPyramid.gov
  • Healthy Eating for Lifetime
  • MayoClinic Food & Nutrition Center
    
    
• Selecting healthy foods for meetings
  Are you tired of long meetings that provide unhealthy foods and do not offer physical activity opportunities? Public Health - Seattle & King County has developed Food and Physical Activity Guidelines to help choose healthier foods for meetings and worksites events, in addition to providing strategies to be more physically active.
  • Food and Physical Activity Guidelines for Healthy Meetings
    
    
• Healthy weight/lifestyle
  Finding a balance between food consumption and being physical active can be challenging.  Here are some websites that can help you find a balance that is right for you:
  • 9 Steps to a Healthy Diet
  • Nutrition for Everyone: Healthy Weight
    
    
• Nutritious recipes
  Looking for a new tasty and healthy recipe? Trying a new recipe a week is a good goal to spice up family mealtime.  These websites contain healthy recipes and many have the added benefit of nutrition information:
  • Public Health's Cookbook
  • MayoClinic's Healthy Recipes Center
  • The World's Healthiest Foods
    
    
• Recipe makeovers
  Want to know how to adapt a family favorite dish to a healthier version? Here is a link with easy suggestions for reducing fat, sugar and salt:
  • MayoClinic's Recipe Makeovers
    
    
• Healthy eating habits for kids
  Starting healthy eating habits early will prevent your child from having to try changing poor eating habits later in life. For tips on how to provide healthy foods in child appropriate portion sizes, visit these websites:
  • Public Health's Healthy Eating for Kids
  • Family & Kids Recipes from Mealtime.org
  • Nutrition Explorations
    
    
• Breastfeeding
  Babies are born to breastfed! Here are some websites for moms-to-be and breastfeeding moms to support and answer your questions.
  • Public Health's Breastfeeding Resources
  • La Leche League

Make your neighborhood a healthier place

What does your neighborhood have to do with your health? Quite a bit, and you can do something about it! Assess your home and neighborhood for good health, and take actions to improve it.

Is your neighborhood "walkable?"

Since physical activity is a primary way to stay healthy and prevent obesity related diseases, being able to walk is one way to do that. Are there sidewalks? If so, are they in good repair? Do the sidewalks lead to shops you want to visit? How easy or difficult is it to cross the streets in your neighborhood and near your work place? If having a walkable community is important to you, contact Feet First.

Clearing the air

Outdoor air quality is affected by cars, trucks, burning wood and industrial sites in and around a neighborhood. Poor air quality can trigger asthma attacks, and other respiratory problems. To clear the air and lower your risk for health problems, consolidate driving trips, walk when you can, do not let the car idle except at stop lights, and use a certified wood stove. For more information, visit the Puget Sound Clean Air authority website.

Clean indoor air is important, too

Circulating air through your home is important to keep the air fresh for breathing, and to reduce mold growth. Open windows for a short while once or twice a day. Use the bathroom and stove fans to keep air circulating. If someone in your home has asthma, vacuum and dust often. Visit Public Health's Indoor Air Quality webpage for more tips.

Learn more

If you want to learn more about how the environmental features and layout of your neighborhood affect your health there are many information sources available including:

• Websites
  • Designing and Building Healthy Places
  • ActiveLiving.org
  • Urbanization and suburbanization: Health and environmental issues (PDF)
    
    
• Books
  • Urban Sprawl and Public Health, Designing, Planning, and Building Healthy Communities. Howard Frumkin, Lawrence Frank, Richard Jackson. Island Press. 2004.
  • Geography of Nowhere: The Rise and Decline of America's Man-Made Landscape. James Howard Kunstler. Touchstone Press. 1993
    
    
• Article
  • American Journal of Public Health, September 1, 2003, Volume 93, Issue 9 (entire issue devoted to land use, the built environment, and health)