Ventura County Health Care Plan (VCHCP) provides support and information to promote our members healthy living. To assist in meeting your wellness goals, VCHCP has identified self-management tools for members use. The links below connect to tools and resources to help you live well and take care of yourself. We encourage you to take advantage of these tools to help set your health and wellness goals, then work toward them. If you have any questions or find you need assistance, please contact VCHCP Member Services at (805) 981-5050.
Maintaining a Healthy Weight
It is important to maintain a healthy weight. The links provided take you to a body mass index (BMI) calculator where you enter your height and weight to determine where your results fall within specified ranges. Additional information and materials can be accessed based on your personal goals.
Adult:
https://www.cdc.gov/bmi/adult-calculator/
Child/Teen BMI:
https://www.cdc.gov/bmi/child-teen-calculator/widget.html
Learn more about Healthy Weight, Nutrition, and Physical Activity:
https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/index.html
Smoking and Tobacco Use Cessation
Tobacco and nicotine can harm more than your lungs. Smoking can affect many other organs in your body. Quitting smoking or the use of other tobacco products is one of the healthiest actions you can take. The links below provide information to help you take steps to quit smoking.
Quiz: How Strong is Your Nicotine Addiction?
https://smokefree.gov/challenges-when-quitting/withdrawal/nicotine-addiction-quiz
Quitting Starts Now. Make Your Quit Plan
https://smokefree.gov/build-your-quit-plan
Improve Your Physical Activity
Establishing a regular exercise program supports both your health and mental wellness. Routine exercise helps to increase strength, maintain weight, and maintain mobility and flexibility. It can also help to lessen the impact of chronic diseases such as blood pressure, diabetes, or osteoporosis. The links below provide information on the health benefits of physical activity and can assist you to identify calories burned when participating in different types of activities.
Exercise Activity Calculator
https://www.cancer.org/cancer/risk-prevention/diet-physical-activity/get-active/exercise-counts-calculator.html
How much physical activity do adults need?
https://www.cdc.gov/physical-activity-basics/guidelines/adults.html
Support for Healthy Eating
Healthy eating improves your overall health. It is another component to support maintaining weight and help prevent or manage chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. Visit the resources below to take the nutrition and activity quiz and identify ways to improve how you eat.
Nutrition and Activity Quiz
https://www.cancer.org/cancer/risk-prevention/diet-physical-activity/nutrition-activity-quiz.html
Calorie Counter
https://www.cancer.org/cancer/risk-prevention/diet-physical-activity/eat-healthy/calorie-counter-calculator.html
Healthy Eating for a Healthy Weight
https://www.cdc.gov/healthy-weight-growth/healthy-eating/meals-snacks.html
How to Assess and Manage Stress
Stress is how the body reacts to a challenge or demand. Change, even a positive change, can be a cause of stress. Stress can be short or long-term and can lead to health problems. Understanding and lowering stress can lower your risk. Take the anxiety test to determine your current stress level. Use the sites provided to assist you to understand how to better manage your stress.
Anxiety Test
https://screening.mhanational.org/screening-tools/anxiety/?ref
Coping with Stress
https://www.cdc.gov/mental-health/living-with/?CDC_AAref_Val=https://www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/cope-with-stress/index.html
Manage Stress
https://health.gov/myhealthfinder/health-conditions/heart-health/manage-stress
Avoiding at-risk drinking.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services “Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020 – 2025” state adults of legal drinking age can choose not to drink or to drink in moderation by limiting intake to 2 drinks or less in a day for men or 1 drink of less in a day for women when alcohol is consumed. Drinking less is better for your health. If you have concerns about the amount of alcohol you consume and its effect on your health, visit the links provided below for more information and support for managing your drinking.
Alcohol Use Screening Tool
https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/checkyourdrinking/index.html
Alcohol Use and Your Health
https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/about-alcohol-use
Identifying Depressive Symptoms
Anyone can get depressed. It can happen at any age and with any type of person. If you feel down or hopeless, aren’t sleeping well, or have lost interest in doing things you normally like to do, you may be depressed. The links below allow you to privately screen for depression. You can access the additional information provided at each of these links to help you better understand your results.
Depression Test
https://screening.mhanational.org/screening-tools/depression/?layout=mhats,actions_a
Online Mental Check-up
https://healthymindsphilly.org/screening/
Mental Health Conditions: Depression and Anxiety
https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/campaign/tips/diseases/depression-anxiety.html
