Participants of a health and wellbeing programme run by the Irish Cancer Society are eating better, exercising more and attending for screening.
The Fit for Work and Life programme is aimed at young adults in disadvantaged communities who may be unemployed or on low incomes.
A survey of people who took part found that knowledge of the risks of alcohol went from 43% to 89% and engagement in 30 minutes of exercise a day went from 30% to 90%
Here are some of the other results:
There were significant increases in knowledge of:
- Healthy eating - 66% to 97% pre- and post-survey
- Recommendations for physical activity - 49% to 96% pre and post survey
- Importance of being a healthy weight - 52% to 84% pre and post survey
- What is a unit of alcohol - 43% to 89%
- The European Code Against Cancer 12 steps to reduce cancer risk - 19% to 95%
- The services of the Irish Cancer Society - 30% to 90%
Participants who reported increasing:
- Eating a diet high in fibre (peas, beans and wholegrains) – 44% to 69%
- Paying attention to portion sizes - 39% to 65%
- Engaging in 30 minutes physical activity per day 61% to 82%
- Protection against the sun – 53% to 75%
- There was an increase in the number of participants who said they attended cancer screening appointments, if called, after participating in the programme from 63% to 83%
Dr. Noel Richardson, National Centre for Men’s Health, Carlow Institute of Technology, which carried out the study says, “The programme had a profound effect on participants health and wellbeing and created significant opportunities for partnership development and community capacity building that can form the bedrock for its future sustainability. This evaluation provides a very strong case for scaling up the Fit for work and life programme. “
