MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Falklands' lifestyle reveals overweight, less smokers and little physical activity

Calculated BMI indicates that 68.9% of males and 62.5% of females are above a healthy weight.

Nearly 600 residents have contributed to a major snapshot of health and lifestyle in the Falkland Islands. The Health and Lifestyle Survey 2019 has just been published by the Falkland Islands Government Public Health Unit.

The unit head, Carol Morrison, said: “This survey gives us a picture of individual lifestyle behaviors and what kind of barriers people encounter to leading a healthier life.

The survey will help build a picture of population health to guide future health promotions”.

Among many other statistics Calculated BMI (Body Mass Index) indicates that 68.9% of males and 62.5% of females are above a healthy weight. However, the good news is the vast majority (75.9%) of respondents reported living in a smoke free home.

Of the respondents 76.5% classified themselves as non-smokers (38.4%) or ex-smokers (38.1%) and 23.4% as smokers, regular (17.5%) or occasional (5.9%).

Of those that reported drinking alcohol, mean weekly intake was 11.1 units, although some people reported far higher levels of intake.

A total of 24.6% reported exceeding the recommended safe intake levels, 18% of females and 32.2% of males, which was significant.

Males were significantly more likely to engage with binge drinking and more frequently, on a weekly or daily basis, compared to females and had a significant tendency to be less aware of the harmful effects of excessive alcohol consumption.

Half of the respondents (50.3%) reported participating in physical activity on less than 3 occasions per week. Respondents were asked to nominate reasons which are barriers to being more physically active both in their daily routine and for planned activity.

The most common response was lack of time (44%).

Respondents were asked how many portions of fruit and vegetables they normally eat in a day, the responses ranged from 0 to10. The vast majority 79.9% of the respondents did not meet the recommended 5-a-day guideline. (PN).