Parks and Recreation Promotes Health and Wellness The values of good health and wellness have been extolled to the American public for years. The paths to good health include exercising, good nutrition and reducing stress levels. Despite all the encouragement for Americans to become more active and eat well, the statistics show that people are not acting on that information. It may be hard to believe that an estimated 250,000 people die in our country every year because of inactivity, but the evidence is continually more convincing. Inactivity is second only to smoking, which causes 400,000 preventable deaths in the United States annually—more than auto accidents, breast cancer, colon cancer and alcohol combined.(1) Providing activity through recreation experiences is what most agencies do best. As your communities become more concerned with their activity levels and health, your programs must be the first thing to pop into their heads as the thing to fulfill their health and wellness needs. Park and recreation agencies also have a multitude of facilities, trails, sports fields, playgrounds and pools that you can promote as healthy alternatives to television viewing, computer games and reading. Local park and recreation agencies are well-positioned to take the lead in facilitating programs and facilities to address this national health priority as we are front line providers!(2)
|
 |
|
||||