THE shocking state of Islanders’ health has today been revealed in a major social survey suggesting that the get-fit message is still not getting through.
The report, which will be presented to the States early next year, shows that Jersey residents are suffering an increasing number of severe illnesses, drink too much alcohol and fail to get enough exercise or eat enough fruit and vegetables.
Today Rosemary Geller, the Medical Officer of Health, told the JEP: ‘We do have a problem, and it is a problem caused by our lifestyle choices. During the last 30 years our lifestyles have deteriorated – we are drinking more, eating more junk food and not getting enough exercise – and we are now starting to see the effects of this.
‘Jersey is in a different league to most other places when it comes to alcohol consumption, but the rest of the problems highlighted in the survey are being experienced in many other countries in western Europe. We need to make major lifestyle changes if we want to tackle this increasing problem.’
