VCH staff present at healthy living event in Richmond
Staff from VCH’s Dental Public Health Program (Richmond), Healthy Living Program (Vancouver) and Tobacco Reduction Program (Richmond) were at a healthy living event for the public on Oct 22, 2017. Ming Pao Daily News, a Chinese-language newspaper, hosted the free, one-day healthy living event for the first-time at the Richmond Library and Cultural Centre. VCH staff offered:
- oral self assessments (where people could use disclosing solution on themselves to see whether their oral care was effective)
- blood pressure and physical fitness screening
- carbon monoxide testing (for those who smoke)
- giveaways
Laurie Cheung, Tobacco Reduction Coordinator, Tobacco Reduction offering carbon monoxide testing and tobacco-related resources
The event included presentations (in Cantonese or Mandarin) and resources from experts on nutrition, healthy living, bone health as well as living tobacco-free and vape-free.
Lisa Enns, Dental Hygienist, Richmond Public Health Dental Program offering oral self-assessments
The health of Richmond residents
A report from My Health My community shows that only 37% of Richmond residents engage in 150 minutes or more of physical activity per week while 49% report spending 2 or more hours of screen time daily. Physical inactivity and increased screen time contribute to a sedentary lifestyle, which could impact blood pressure and increase the risk of developing chronic diseases. This is of concern because 20% of survey respondents reported having high blood pressure.
The survey also indicated the smoking prevalence rate in Richmond to be 8%, and 26% reported being exposed to second-hand smoke in public places. Second-hand tobacco smoke has many carcinogens, and there is no safe level of exposure. Also of importance is dental health, where provincial kindergarten dental screening finds that approximately 20% of Richmond children have untreated visual tooth decay. Once a child gets tooth decay, they are at high risk for tooth decay their entire life.
The event was a success!
According to Ming Pao, there were approximately 800 attendees from the Lower Mainland at the event. As the event was very successful, a similar event in 2018 is being considered.