People who live in Squamish are generally healthy, but they tend to binge drink, according to a new report.
An overview of the report, Health and Wellness in Squamish, was presented to council’s committee of the whole April 28.
“My overall take, having looked at a few of the community profiles, is that Squamish is a thriving and relatively equitable community,” said Dr. Jat Sandhu, Vancouver Coastal Health regional director of public health surveillance, who presented the report.
The report was based on statistics gleaned from a 2013, 93-question My Health My Community survey of adults in Squamish that was a Vancouver Coastal Health, University of B.C. and Fraser Health initiative.
Being the so-called recreation capital of Canada, it is no surprise Squamish residents are an active lot and the survey reflected that healthy lifestyle.
Out of about 30 Vancouver Coastal Health and Fraser Health municipalities, Squamish ranked second only to Whistler in terms of the amount of exercise citizens do per week.
Sixty-two per cent of Squamish residents who responded to the survey said they exercise vigorously over two and a half hours per week compared to about 46 per cent of residents in the rest of the Vancouver Coastal Health region.
“This is one that certainly Squamish residents can be proud of,” said Sandhu.
Fifty-seven per cent of Squamish respondents rated their overall health as excellent or very good while 61 per cent rated their mental health as excellent or very good, as opposed to 50 and 55 per cent who said the same in the rest of the Vancouver Coastal Health region.
Most Squamish residents, 92 per cent, have a family doctor, which is higher than in the rest of the Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) region, where 81 per cent reported having a family physician.
About 70 per cent of Squamites also reported a somewhat strong or very strong connection to their community, compared with less than 60 per cent of residents in other VCH communities.
“It is a really good foundation for a lot of healthy communities – having that sense of belonging,” said Sandhu.
That is the good news of the survey, but the results also pointed to some areas of concern for the district.
While chronic disease rates were low in Squamish and consistent with the rest of B.C., mood and anxiety disorders impacted 18 per cent of respondents as opposed to 16 per cent in the rest of VCH and eight per cent in the rest of B.C.
About 36 per cent of men and 29 per cent of women in the Squamish survey reported binge drinking more than once a month, significantly higher than the 27 and 20 per cent in the rest of the region. Squamish ranks second only to Whistler out of the approximately 30 municipalities and areas surveyed in their penchant for downing booze.
Squamish residents also report being about as stressed as others in the Lower Mainland, with 14 per cent answering that most days are quite or extremely stressful. Reported reasons for stress included financial situation, work or school situation, lack of time, and personal relationships.
Squamish is a more car-dependent community than most, with 79 per cent getting to work or school by car as opposed to 45 per cent who say the same in the rest of VCH.
The purpose of the report was to give council information on which to reflect when making decisions that impact Squamish residents, according to district staff.
Factors of a person’s life, such as income level and access to safe and nutritious food, determine about 50 per cent of what makes people sick, while quality of health care accounts for 25 per cent, 15 per cent is biology and 10 per cent is the environment, according to the Canadian Medical Association.
“Sixty per cent of what influences our health and well being is actually shaped by our socio-economic and physical environment,” said Sandhu.
The survey reached three per cent of the local population, or approximately 400 Squamish adults. Respondents predominantly answered the survey online, but supplemental field outreach was done to reach more vulnerable populations, Sandhu said.
The full report will be sent to council next month.
