If getting healthier is your New Year’s resolution, the State of Delaware wants to give you some help via social media.
Governor Jack Markell and Delaware Health and Social Services officials launched the “Thirty-One Days to a Healthier You” campaign at the Central YMCA in Wilmington Wednesday.
Using social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, the campaign will offer small, simple fitness, nutritional, and health tips and advice each day in January. Delaware Public Health Director Dr. Karyl Rattay says many tips are based on the 5-2-1-almost none system developed by Nemours.
“Five stands for five or more fruits and vegetables a day. Two stands for two or less hours of recreational screen time. One stands for one or more hours of physical activity a day. And almost none stands for almost no sugary beverages.”
Rattay also the campaign will also emphasize tips to stop smoking, which she noted is the leading cause of preventable death in Delaware.
According to Gov. Markell, the ultimate goal is to get people, especially young people, to take the small steps needed to create healthy habits and lifestyle choices.
“36 percent of young people are overweight. A lot of those people are getting their news, their information from social media. It’s impossible these days to run any kind of public engagement campaign successfully if you don’t use social media,” said Markell.
To help make the campaign easy to follow, all the posts will contain the hashtag #healthDE.
Officials note Delaware is seeing some improvements in key areas like smoking levels and cardiovascular deaths.
But the state’s diabetes and obesity rates still remain high, issues that can be addressed by a healthier, active lifestyle.
