Essay Example on The community I reside in is Stockbridge Georgia

The Henry County of Times and Henry Neighbor are the local newspapers for this area 10 Lastly there are five public libraries in the county 11 Health behaviors in Henry County that impact nutrition and health are obesity physical inactivity smoking and access to exercise opportunities 12 The CDC defines obesity as having a BMI greater than or equal to 30 kg m2 13 Physical inactivity is defined as not reaching the recommended time of at least thirty minutes of physical activity 14 Smoking is the act of inhaling smoke through the mouth usually tobacco in the form of a cigarette 15 Lastly access to exercise opportunities means people who live in close proximity to some form of exercise facility 16These health behaviors can impact people with a low socioeconomic status Based on the Piedmont Hospital community health needs assessment for Henry County the most prevalent health concerns are obesity hypertension heart disease and diabetes It is stated that most hospital admissions are related to heart disease Nearly 30 of residents are obese and or hypertensive and 25 are sedentary Approximately 15 of residents are smokers as well Also about 11 of Henry County residents live below the poverty line and 22 are uninsured Being of a low socioeconomic status could prevent some patients from seeking medical attention to manage some of these health conditions In addition most adults in Henry county are not meeting the recommended fruit and vegetable intake because of the limited access to fresh produces 17 In order to combat the health concerns mentioned above there is a nutrition counseling at the Henry County Health Department A licensed dietitian named Karmen Scott provides nutritional counseling on hypertension diabetes weight management and other services Henry County Health Dept 135 Henry Parkway McDonough GA 30253 Ph 1 800 847 4262 or 706 845 403518 The Piedmont Hospital s health assessment mentioned a program called Walk with A Doc 17 This program gives participants a brief presentation over health then participants go out and walk While walking participants can ask questions regarding health to any physician that is walking with them 19 One of their locations is not in Henry County but there is one in Atlanta Lionel Hampton Beecher Hills Park SW Connector Trail Atlanta GA 30311 USA 1st Saturday of every month at 9 am Lead Physician Charles E Moore MD contact walkwithadoc org The CDC started a Diabetes Prevention 

Program that helps people who are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes by making lifestyle changes They are several locations in Atlanta people can visit 20 Next Georgia has a hotline called Georgia Tobacco Quit Line that assist people to make the first step to stop smoking 21 Lastly I think there are gaps in services resources in Henry County Looking at the public health website for my county there were barely any programs that addressed any of the health problems mentioned There were tips on how to combat obesity and improve nutrition but that was all that was provided In addition the Henry County website did not have a health wellness page so there is no way of knowing if issues are being dealt with Next people are also not receiving the medical attention they need since most are uninsured Lastly another problem that was already mentioned is access to fresh produce Without access to fresh fruits and vegetables some may choose a cheaper alternative such as processed foods or fast food which will negatively impact their health As a result Henry County needs to do more to improve community health