Wellness Resources
Eating right is vital to promoting health and reducing the risk for death or disability due to chronic diseases such as heart disease, certain cancers, diabetes, stroke, and osteoporosis.
In fact, it has been estimated that dietary changes could reduce cancer deaths in the United States by as much as 35 percent.
- Quick Easy Tips to More Fruits and Vegetables
- Fruits and Veggies More Matters
- Cooking the Heart Healthy Way (recipes)
- How to Use the Nutrition Facts Panel on Food Labels
- Milk Matters
- Cooking with Soy
- Knowledge for Healthy Eating
- Heart Healthy Bean Recipes
- Consumer Nutrition Alerts
- American Dietetic Association
Physical Activity
Americans young and old should incorporate regular physical activity into their everyday lives. Choose activities that fit into your daily routine that speed your heart rate and breathing, or increase your strength and flexibility. Examples include walking to work, gardening, or mowing the lawn with a push mower. Besides building strength and aerobic fitness, regular exercise relieves stress, provides motivation, promotes relaxation, and facilitates sleep.
- Learn the Basics about Fitness
- Find Outdoor Recreation in the USA
- Physical Activity Tips
- Strength Training: Why and How
- Physical Activity in Your Daily Life
- All About Walking
- Physical Activity and Weight Control
- Exercise: A Guide from the National Institutes on Aging [PDF]
- MyStart! Online for Individuals
- Exercise and Arthritis
For more fitness links, see Workplace Health & Wellness
Diseases and Conditions
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the nation. Death from cardiovascular disease is only part of the picture, up to 1/4 of Americans live day to day with some form of this disease. Smoking, being overweight, leading an inactive lifestyle, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes are all risk factors for developing cardiovascular disease. These resources can help us all lead healthier lives.
- American Heart Association
- Heart Attack Warning Signs
- 10 Ways To Control High Blood Pressure Without Medication
- Your Guide to Lowering High Blood Pressure
- Advice for Patients with Hypertension
- High Blood Cholesterol - What You Need to Know
- Cholesterol Counts
- Diabetes & Me
- Diseases & Conditions A-Z
- Drug Resource Center
- Ask The Expert
- Arthritis Conditions & Treatments
- Surgeon General's Family History Initiative
- WebMD Diseases & Conditions
Weight Control
If you are overweight or obese, carrying this extra weight puts you at risk for developing many diseases or physical ailments such as: high blood pressure, hypertension, high blood cholesterol, dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, gallstones, gout, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, some types of cancer, and psychological disorders (such as depression, eating disorders, distorted body image, and low self esteem).
- Body Mass Index (BMI) calculator & Understanding Your Results
- Aim for a Healthy Weight: Information for Patients and the Public
- Choosing a Safe and Successful Weight Loss Program
- Do You Know the Health Risks of Being Overweight?
- Helping Your Overweight Child
- Overweight and Obesity: What You Can Do
- Surgeon General's Healthy Weight Advice for Consumers
- Find a Nutrition Professional
- Taking Off Pounds Sensibly
- Getting Started: Losing Weight for Long Term
- Calorie Control Council
Prevention
Preventive screenings and tests save lives. Unfortunately, many Americans do not routinely follow some basic health screening recommendations. Routine screenings can identify a previously undiagnosed condition or risk of condition. This allows physicians to intervene early with treatments and therapies to control the condition or inform the individual of lifestyle changes that can be taken to improve health outcomes and costs.
- Staying Healthy at 50+
- Child Immunization Schedule
- Health Topics A-Z
- HealthierUs.gov
- Healthfinder.gov
- Women's Health
- Fight Flu and Pneumonia
- Child Health Guide
- Smoking Cessation
- Vehicle Safety
Mental Health and Stress Management
Stress is part of life. Caregiving, work and family demands, illness and financial pressures all can cause stress. If you don't control stress, it can lead to health problems. Stress can disrupt not only your concentration, but also your sleeping and eating habits. It could weaken your ability to fight illness. And it could lead to depression. Stress can become overwhelming.
If this is the case, you may want outside help from a counselor, therapist, or LIFELINE (your Employee Assistance Program) to examine approaches to reducing the symptoms of stress and help you decrease the stress in your life.
- Depression Guide (28 pages) [pdf]
- What is Depression?
- Depression Screening
- The Role of Stress in Disease and Illness
- Eating Disorders
- Stress Management
- Laughing at Stress with Humor
- Test Your Funny Bone
- Managing Traumatic Stress
- Work Out Your Stress
- Breathing Techniques
- Employee Assistance Program
- Finding Better Sleep
We spend the greater part of our waking hours at the workplace. Your daily work habits can either improve or hamper your desired health habits. Find out how to stay more active at work, adjust your workspace for comfort, manage stress, avoid workplace hazards and more.
- Workplace Health
- My Daily Yoga
- Desk Exercises
- Active at Any Size
- Subscribe to the HealthQuest Wellness Blog
- American Cancer Society
- American Heart Association
- American Medical Association
- Centers for Disease Control
- EurekAlert! (online, global news service operated by The American Association for the Advancement of Science
- www.Health.Gov (portal to a number of multi-agency health initiatives and activities of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and other Federal departments and agencies)
- National Institutes of Health
- U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
- U.S. Federal Food & Drug Administration
Online Health Calculators & Tools
Body
Mass Index
The BMI is a measure of your weight relative to your height. BMI is
a reliable indicator of total body fat, which is related to the risk
of disease and death. Use the BMI calculator to estimateyour total
body fat.
Food
and Activity Dairy
Record keeping is one of the most successful behavioral techniques
for weight loss and maintenance. Write down your diet, exercise, and
behavioral goals at the bottom of the diary.
Menu
Planner
The interactive menu planner is designed to guide daily food and
meal choices based on one day's calorie allowance. It may be used in
advance to plan a meal, or at the end of a day to add up total
calories, as well as fat, and carbohydrates consumed.
Menus
These sample reduced-calorie menus provide an example of a balanced
diet for 1200 and 1600 calorie menus. Traditional-American,
Asian-American, Southern-Cuisine, Mexican-American,
Vegetarian-American menus are available.
Making
Health Behavior Change
Making changes in regards to your health is hard to do. Setting
specific goals and realizing why you want to change is the first step.
This website provides guidance on how to make behavior changes one
step at a time.
Calorie
Counter (Search for Individual Foods)
Search through this database for the foods you've eaten throughout
the day. This website is a fast and easy way to keep track of how many
calories the foods you enjoy count for in your daily total.
Exercise
Calculator (For Individual Activities)
How can you burn off some of those extra calories before they turn
into extra pounds? Try this “Get Moving! Calculator” to see how
many calories you expend doing your favorite exercise or activity.
Weight
Maintenance Calculator
Find out how many calories you need to maintain your current weight.
2000
Calorie Meal Plan
These delicious meal plans were created by dietitians who won the
Calorie Control Council’s Healthy Menu Contest. They average 2,000
calories a day and are low in total fat and saturated fat.
Fast
Food Calorie Counter
The Fast Food Nutrition Explorer will help you make healthier fast
food choices when on the go. You can 'power search', compare
restaurants, and even check out combo meals.
Interactive
Health Tools
You can view your 'baby's growth timeline', download recipes for
your PDA, send an e-health card, view your 'body by numbers', or take
the 'Chocolate Quiz' all in one click at this Harvard Medical School
website.
WebMD
Health Tools
Individualized guides for maximizing health and wellness. Check out
the My E-health records, Ovulation Calendar, or Immunization Schedule
sections just to name a few.
Real Age
Health Assessment
RealAge Assessments include quizzes and other tools to help you
determine your risk of disease and what you can do to reduce that
risk. Each assessment is based on scientific research
tailored to you.
- Allergies and Asthma
- Arthritis and Back Pain
- Cancer Prevention
- Controlling Your Stress
- Diabetes
- Fitness
- Getting Your ZZZZsss
- Heart Health
- Immunizations
- Mental Health
- Nutrition
- Safety
- Self-Care
and Prevention
The links below require Adobe Acrobat Reader and a browser version of 5.0 or higher. Netscape and Internet Explorer are supported, although the latter is recommended for best viewing.
These links require Adobe Acrobat Reader and a browser version of 5.0 or higher. Netscape and Internet Explorer are supported, although the latter is recommended for best viewing.