Environments That Promote Healthy Lifestyles 1 ADAPTED VERSION FOR THE FIRST NATIONS AND INUIT COMMUNITIES

2 Introduce Yourself  Your name  Your position  Give an example in your personal or professional life where your environment prompted you to adopt a healthy lifestyle.

Outreach Session Objectives  Learn about the obesity problems that exist in Québec, especially in Aboriginal communities, as well as their impact on health.  Better understand the impact of physical, sociocultural, economic and political environments on our lifestyles.  Reflect on the means available to create environments that foster healthy lifestyles. 3

Module 1 Highlights 4

JUST THINK… 5 …future generations might enjoy fewer healthy years than their parents.

Why? Obesity has a negative impact on health and increases the risk of developing the following problems:  Cardiovascular disease  Diabetes  Stress on joints  Restrictions on daily activities 6

Obesity What is the obesity percentage among adults from First Nations in Québec? 7 Obesity = Body mass index of 30+ Source: ERS % First Nations

We’re all getting heavier! Today In recent years, the average weight and proportion of people who are obese have increased throughout the world.

Impact on the health of young people 9 50% of obese children in elementary school are at risk of becoming obese adults. Psycho-social problems represent the greatest cause for concern.

What accounts for these changes? The lifestyle of our societies has undergone several radical transformations in a relatively short period of time:  A sedentary lifestyle  Changes in diet  A faster pace of life In addition, issues related to Aboriginal people’s loss of identity (mental health, dependencies…) tend to overshadow the adoption of healthy lifestyle habits. Limited access to and the high cost of healthy foods affect more remote communities. 10

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Target the environments Goal: “Make healthy choices easier and unhealthy ones difficult.” 13 Milio N. (1981) Promoting Health Through Public Policy. FA Davis Pub, Philadelphia

Target the environments Why?  To adopt sustainable preventive strategies that address problems before they start  To benefit the entire target population  To do a better job of reaching vulnerable groups  To make investments that yield results 14 The health sector cannot provide all the solutions: YOU can also make a difference in the environments!

Four environments  Set of natural elements:  physical  sociocultural  political  economic that surround all living things 15

Physical environment  Natural  Built and planned  Technological 16 The elements:

Sociocultural environment  Social relations  Norms and conventions  Visions and representations of reality 17 The elements:

Political environment  Political system and culture  Political parties  Public policies* *Definition: a statement or strategic action produced by a public authority 18

Economic environment Price of goods and services  Is it less expensive to shop for groceries in town than in the community store? 19 Business practices  Why are soft drinks always on special?

20 Environment that promotes healthy eating, a physically active lifestyle and the prevention of weight-related problems.

Reflection and Commitment 21 What would be your role in this approach?

22 Production of initial version: Darvida Conseil (Bertrand Turbide, Sonia Ribaux) Contributors – version adapted for Aboriginal communities: FNQLHSSC (Francine Vincent, Alexandra Picard-Sioui, Marie-Noëlle Caron) CBHSSJB (Isabelle Barbeau) FNIH (Paul El Haddad) FEPS Université de Sherbrooke (Alain D’Amboise) Institut national de santé publique du Québec (Suzanne Bruneau) Québec en Forme (Mathieu Vallet) RRSSS Nunavik (Marie-Josée Gauthier, Véronique Dion-Roy) Linguistic review: Marie-Claude Labrie Contributors – initial production: Institut national de santé publique du Québec (Marie-Claude Paquette, Éric Robitaille) Catherine Gervais, consultant Collaborating Centre for Healthy Public Policy (François Benoît) Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux (Lyne Mongeau) Québec en Forme (Steeve Ager) © Québec en Forme 2013