news-record.com

RALEIGH — U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin spoke about the first nationwide health prevention plan at a gathering of public health workers in Raleigh today.

The National Prevention Strategy, a part of the Affordable Care Act, focuses on stopping illness and diseases before they start, primarily through curbing unhealthy habits such as poor diet, physical inactivity, tobacco use, and alcohol misuse.

These behaviors are modifiable, Benjamin told the audience at the N.C. Health Director's Conference. The prevention strategy is based on four pillars designed to change them: creating a healthier environment, offering more preventative services, reducing health inequalities among communities, and giving people the information they need to make healthier choices.

Benjamin, who is chair of the National Prevention Strategy, said partnerships at the federal, state, and community level are fundamental to the strategy. North Carolina exemplifies the model well, she said.

The Healthy North Carolina 2020 Campaign, in which local hospitals work with health departments to perform fitness assessments, is one example of the type of partnerships Benjamin said she hopes to see across the country.

"North Carolina is a clear example of what the prevention strategy is trying to do; you're already doing it," she said.

If more states take holistic approaches to community health that integrate transportation, education, housing, the workplace, and the environment, Benjamin thinks the strategy will be successful.

After displaying a photo of herself in workout attire dancing in a Zumba fitness class, Benjamin, 55, urged public health workers to make healthy lifestyles enjoyable. Everyone can enjoy some type of physical activity, she said.

"Stop telling people what they can't do and start telling them what they can do," she said.

Benjamin also advised public health workers to support walking activities. She recently participated in a 26.2-mile walk at the Grand Canyon, and this evening was scheduled to visit the American Tobacco Trail in Durham with a local walking club.

The Surgeon General's next step is to set up radio dance breaks by asking radio stations to play 30 to 60 seconds of upbeat music at random times during the day to encourage people to have fun and dance wherever they are.