What is the Healthy Hawaii Initiative?

Hawaiians who are interested in adopting a healthier lifestyle will find a great resource in the Healthy Hawaii Initiative. This website is packed with information about healthy eating, fitness tips and events going on throughout the islands to promote a healthy way of life. The Healthy Hawaii Initiative is a product of the Hawaii State Department of Health, designed to help all of the residents and visitors to the islands enjoy life to the fullest.

Goals of the Program

The Healthy Hawaii Initiative has three basic goals:

• To educate the general public about the leading causes of preventable deaths, to increase the Hawaiian life expectancy overall
• To reduce the incidence of chronic disease, as well as the financial and health care burdens associated with it
• To encourage the Hawaiian people to make healthy choices that are easy to incorporate into their daily lives

To achieve these goals, the Healthy Hawaii Initiative has launched a number of campaigns directed at the general public of Hawaii to help them become health-savvy consumers and residents of the islands.

Campaigns Included in the Program

Current campaigns incorporated into the Healthy Hawaii Initiative include:

• Step it Up Hawaii – a fitness campaign that encourages adults in the islands to walk at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week
• Fruits and Veggies, Good Choice! – this program is designed to promote the addition of one more fruit and one more vegetable to the table every single day
• 1% or Less – a campaign to get more Hawaiians to switch from fat-filled whole and 2% milk to 1% or skim varieties
• You Gotta Start Somewhere – for Hawaiians who are new to the healthy lifestyle approach, this campaign teaches them to begin in small, achievable steps that will eventually help them reach their goals

What Else?

In addition to the campaigns available through the Healthy Hawaii Initiative, the website also offers information about smoke-free living, healthy eating and fitness. Residents can learn about special events in their area that promote a healthy lifestyle. There are also some fun tools included on the website, such as coloring pages for the kids and quizzes you can take to test your nutrition knowledge. For those launching a healthy initiative in their own homes, there are specialized calculators to help you track your progress.

Hawaii now has the necessary support and education to produce a much healthier population, thanks to the Healthy Hawaii Initiative. Whether you are looking to stop smoking, lose weight or simply adopt a healthier lifestyle overall, this website is a wealth of valuable tools and information to help you reach your goals.