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Learn more about BCAHL and healthy living through our blogs, press releases, podcasts episodes, and webinars.

You’ve Got to Move it, Move it! – Building Communities that Motivate People to Walk and Bike
On June 23rd, BC Alliance for Healthy Living together with our partners at the Real Estate Foundation of BC hosted an exciting webinar on healthier built environments. Given that communities that make walking and biking more convenient and comfortable for people also make it easier for people to be healthier. The webinar focused on research…
Men’s Health Matters – In the Home, at the Park and in the Workplace!
This week is Men’s Health Week in Canada supported by the guys over at the Canadian Men’s Health Foundation. BCAHL, and especially those of us working on the WoW project, couldn’t agree more with their tagline – ‘Men’s Health Matters’. And we love their approach to include men’s health as an added component of family…
Top 10 Tips for a Happy Bike 2 School Week
I was so excited to ride with my kids to school this week because our youngest is now in grade one and has been getting more ‘into’ his bike lately. As a life-long commuter cyclist, I love biking around – it’s a great way to squeeze a little activity into the day, it makes me…
We’re Inviting Proposals for the Active & Safe BC Initiative
In partnership with the BC Ministry of Health, BCAHL is providing oversight of the Action Plan contained within the Active People, Active Places BC Physical Activity Strategy and to support the Leads of the funded initiatives under the Action Plan. Supporting schools, communities, recreation/sport organizations to safely promote and deliver physical activity while ensuring people…
Activating Communities and People – Recreation’s Renewed Focus
The last time I was at a BCRPA Symposium the province was just winding down from the biggest party we’d seen since Expo ’86. Of course I’m talking about the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. Hosting the Games brought increased attention to the contribution of sport, recreation and physical activity to our communities. The recreation…
WARNING: What’s on a label may determine your choices
Do you remember the first time you saw the graphic warnings on a package of cigarettes? I do. I remember having a visceral reaction to the graphic depicting the consequences of mouth disease. It looked painful and ugly. Who would start smoking when faced with that?! It turns out warning labels are an effective strategy…
Wear a Daffodil, Live Well, Help Make Cancer History
In an interview on the Canadian Cancer Society’s Daffodil Days, someone said “The daffodil is a poignant symbol for cancer survivors. As one of spring’s first flowers, it brings hope and renewal after the long winter and the bulbs continue to bloom again and again.” This quote struck a chord for me and changed the…
Health on the Go – There’s an App for That!
On Wednesday, April 6th, BCAHL’s webinar: “Health on the Go – There’s an App for That!” featured the innovative, emerging field of mobile health. The webinar looked at the current research as well as opportunities for leveraging the ubiquitous smart-phone to promote health and wellness including BC’s recently launched Carrot Rewards App. Our first presenter,…
Take the 100 Meal Journey!
“Take a 100 meal journey. Make small changes one meal at a time.” – that’s the main message for Nutrition Month led by Dietitians of Canada to promote healthier eating to Canadians. It turns out that it takes about 100 meals to make a small dietary change stick. Earlier this month, I had an interesting…
2016 Oscars® Red Carpet Reality Check: Tobacco in Movies Recruits 1/3 of Youth Smokers
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 23, 2016 (Vancouver) – As star-gazers and cinephiles get ready for the Oscars® this weekend, health advocates are asking why young audiences end up as the biggest losers. Of the thirteen movies up for Academy Awards this year that portray smoking, all but two are youth-rated in BC. Heavy-smoking movies, rated…
Get the Smoke Out of Kids Movies
“Really?! In this day and age?!” That was my friend’s reaction when I told her about the issue of smoking in kids movies. She was especially shocked by the revelation that 90% of smoking imagery seen by BC audiences is in movies with youth ratings. In fact, most of the Moms (and a Dad) that…
Surviving $ticker Shock in the Produce Section
Have you seen the price of cauliflower these days?!! It sounds like a conversation you might have with your grandmother when you’ve run out of things to talk about. But not these days with lettuce going for $4 and cauliflower for $7, now the soaring cost of fresh produce has become a big topic in…