Urban Aboriginal Healthy Living Program
Empowering individuals to live healthy, active lifestyles.
Are you interested in...
- Participating in organized sport activities, physical fitness activities, and physical recreation activities;
- Gaining more knowledge of healthy eating habits, traditional diet and healthy weight management;
- Reducing the use of commercial tobacco products and developing a support system to encourage a smoke free environment;
- Developing leadership skills through youth leadership programming and positive community activities.
The Urban Aboriginal Healthy Living Program (UAHLP) can help you achieve your lifestyle goals!
This program is taking major strides to help community members to increase their physical activity levels and their cardio-vascular health; to become smoke-free; to increase their knowledge of nutrition, healthy eating practices and weight management; and, to enhance the leadership ability of our youth.
While the UAHLP will offer great benefits for the community as a whole, it will maintain four key target groups for special programming:
- Children
- Youth
- Women
- Seniors and Disabled Adults
Children
Introducing daily physical activity and sport participation as a healthy lifestyle habit early on is important for childhood development. Also, being an active child sets the stage for increased physical activity and self-esteem in adulthood.
Did you know? Sport participation by children in Canada is on the decline.
Increasing your daily active time is fun and great for your health! Children aged 7-12 years can look forward to various sports and recreation activities that will strengthen the heart, help to achieve and maintain healthy weight, and enhance healthy growth and development.
Youth
Television, computers and video games can keep youth very busy but, unfortunately, "non-active".
Physical activity is important for healthy physical growth, development, and healthy weight maintenance.
Did you know? 41% of urban Aboriginal youth in Canada are overweight or obese. This has contributed to the rise of early onset of type 2 diabetes.
Increasing your physical activity by 30 minutes a day is a good way to start developing healthy physical activity habits to carry with you throughout life.
What to expect of the program?
Besides sports and recreation activities, youth aged 13-17 years can discover their leadership potential and increase their physical activity levels during the Youth Leadership Development Program. Participants can look forward to a series of indoor workshops and outdoor excursions that will stimulate the body and mind and help youth to develop life skills that will prepare them to be our future leaders. Hiking, camping, rock climbing, and canoeing are just some of the activities that will challenge participants to set personal goals and to lead a more active lifestyle.
Women
A woman may fill various care-giving roles throughout her life: mother, daughter, sister, partner, friend, teacher and more. Unfortunately, demanding work and/or family schedules often prevents women from taking the time to care for their own well-being.
Making the time to prepare healthy meals and engaging in regular physical activity is important to your health. A healthier you makes for a healthier family, community, and workplace.
What to expect of the program?
Women can look forward to regular on-going "Women Only" programs such as yoga and aerobics.
Such programs will provide women with the opportunity to connect with other women and to engage in some distraction-free "me" time, and to make exercise a healthy lifestyle habit.
Seniors and Disabled Adults
It is never too late to increase your physical activity level and improve your healthy lifestyle choices. In fact, active living is an important part of aging well and disbaility management.
Regular activity can help you maintain your health and independence and prevent disabling conditions later on.
What to expect of the program?
Seniors and disabled adults can look forward to a variety of programs designed to help build strength, flexibility, and endurance - supporting our seniors and disabled adults to live healthy lives.
Community Programs
Although the Urban Aboriginal Healthy Living Program will be offering targeted programs for children, youth, women and seniors/disabled adults, the program will also be offering a wide range of activities that all the community can participate in, such as sport, recreation and physical fitness activities.
In addition, other healthy living programs are available to interested community members:
Healthy Eating, Healthy Weight
A weekly, ongoing healthy weight management program that will equip participants with the skills, knowledge, attitudes and values needed to make healthy lifestyle choices in building diet and exercise regimes. This 12-week program will focus on nutrition, exercise, stress management, and establishing support networks to ensure your success.
Smoke Free Living/Smoking Cessation
This program will promote a smoke-free lifestyle for you and your family through a variety of workshops and activities. Come meet with role models for smoke-free living and get support while quitting.
