Office Of Women's Health Celebrates National Women's Health Week

Main Category: Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 07 May 2009 - 5:00 PDT

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The Alabama Department of Public Health Office of Women's Health is joining the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to celebrate the 10th annual National Women's Health Week that will kick off on Mother's Day, May 10, through May 16, 2009. The Office of Women's Health Steering Committee is pleased to announce the first annual Women's Health 5K Run and one-mile Mother-Daughter Walk, on Saturday, May 9. The slogan for this event is "Women on the Move to Improve Women's Health." The 2009 Run is being held in Underwood Park, 262 10th Avenue S., Birmingham, Ala. (behind St. Vincent's Hospital).

National Women's Health Week is a weeklong health observance coordinated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office on Women's Health. National Women's Health Week empowers women to make their health a top priority. This year's theme, "It's Your Time," is the nationwide initiative which encourages women to take simple steps for a longer, healthier and happier life. During National Women's Health Week, it is important to educate our wives, mothers, grandmothers, daughters, sisters, aunts and girlfriends about the steps they can take to improve their health and prevent disease. Simple steps to improve health include:

- Be physically active your way. Adults should do a minimum of two hours, 30 minutes a week of moderate-intensity physical activity, such as brisk walking or gardening. Adults should also do muscle-strengthening activities on two or more days per week, such as sit-ups, push-ups or working with resistance bands.
- Eat a nutritious diet.
- Visit a health care professional for regular checkups and preventive screening.
- Avoid risky behaviors, like smoking and not wearing a seatbelt.
- Pay attention to mental health, including getting enough sleep and managing stress.

It is important to celebrate National Women's Health Week and remind women that taking care of themselves is essential to living longer, healthier and happier lives. Women are often the caregivers for their spouses, children, and parents, yet, women forget to focus on their own health. However, research shows that when women take care of themselves, the health of their family improves.

Jessica Hardy, director of the Office of Women's Health, Alabama Department of Public Health, said, "The national theme, "It's Your Time," is very expressive when we understand the impact that women have on the health of their families and their communities."

National Women's Checkup Day will be Monday, May 11, 2009. The eight-week "Women and Girls Out Moving Across the Nation (WOMAN) Challenge," is an online physical activity program that runs from May 10-July 4, 2009, and can be accessed at http://www.womenshealth.gov/whw/about/ .

May is also National Physical Fitness and Sport Month, and to find out more visit the Nutrition and Physical Activity Web site at http://www.adph.org/nutrition/. To learn more about the Women's Health 5K Run and one-mile Mother-Daughter Walk, please visit the Office of Women's Health (OWH) Web site, http://www.adph.org/owh.

Source
Alabama Department of Public Health

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