Health and Wellness
Your health depends on a number of things: some you cannot change like your age, your family history, your gender and your genetic make-up. However, there are some choices a person can make to limit certain health problems.
In February 2006, the Oklahoma State Board of Health released the 2006 State of the State’s Health Report. The report identified several key factors contributing to the poor health outlook for Oklahomans. The two factors which stood out the most pertained to obesity and tobacco use.
Over the past 10 years, the number of people classified as being overweight or obese has increased to more than 60 percent of Oklahoma’s population. The health complications of obesity are numerous and include such health problems as hypertension, high cholesterol, Type II diabetes and coronary heart disease.
Smoking is a habit which affects the health of many Oklahomans. In fact, the state ranks third in the nation with 26.1 percent of adults smoking. Smoking results in thousands of Oklahomans dying prematurely each year with lung cancer. It also contributes to Oklahoma’s high rates of heart disease, stroke, bladder cancer and emphysema.
Community education and wellness classes at Saint Francis Health System are available for these and many other topics. Saint Francis’ medically-based fitness center, Health Zone, offers smoking cessation and healthy weight loss and exercise classes for adults and children as well as classes in stress management and nutrition. Classes are open to both members and non-members of Health Zone.
Other education classes available through Saint Francis address topics such as preparing for a baby, preparing to be a grandparent, Cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR), preparing a teen for babysitting, and many more. To request a current schedule of these and other classes, please call the Saint Francis Education Department at (918) 494-1190.
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