By Kelcie Pegher, The Beach Reporter

A snapshot of the beach cities shows the area is healthier than when Beach Cities Health District began its wellness index five years ago.

According to the data, beach cities residents are scoring slightly higher in the well-being index, a Gallup poll which looks at the physical, financial, social, purpose and community well-being.

One of the greatest indicators is a slight shift downward in the daily stress level of beach city residents. While in 2010, 45 percent of adults reported feeling daily stress, 41 percent feel stress today.

The data was revealed at a State of Health breakfast, a first-time event for the Beach Cities Health District, that also served as a send-off to outgoing CEO Susan Burden. Featuring pollsters from Gallup as well as the founders of the Blue Zones Project, the breakfast focused on where the beach cities are getting it right, and where there is room for improvement.

The BCHD's well-being index focuses on preventative care—finding the ways to prevent sickness through health, a cause Burden has championed.

Seven out of 10 people die of chronic diseases like heart disease and arthritis, Burden said.

“If seven out of 10 people weren't sick, what happens to the cost of health care?” she said. “If it doesn't have to happen, it should not happen.”

By partnering with beach cities government and schools, BCHD has been able to work in programs, like community gardens at schools, and classroom activity breaks. It has resulted in a dramatic drop in obesity among children, from 20 percent to 7 percent.

“We began to change that paradigm together,” Burden said.

At the breakfast, BCHD put to practice what they preached, stopping the presentation for a dance break before getting back to the details.

Still, there is room for improvement, said Kerianne Lawson, the director of lifespan services at BCHD. Seventh grade students in the beach cities report to being bullied more than the county on a whole. While 39 percent of students in the county report being bullied in a study from 2009 to 2011, 45 percent of beach cities 7th grade students report being bullied in the last year.

Adults aged 18 to 29 also aren't faring as well as BCHD would like, Lawson said.

“Everywhere they should be low, it's high, and everywhere they should be high, it's low,” she said.

Between 18 and 29, adults are heavier drinkers, and smoke cigarettes more regularly than their older counterparts. While the percentage of adults who smoke in the beach cities is 9.9 percent, 25.9 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds smoke. Stress is also an area of concern for the younger adults, according to Beach Cities Health District.

The data helps BCHD decide what to focus on next.

Burden, who retires at the end of the month, said since her replacement was announced at the end of August, she has been working with him on a smooth transition. Tom Bakaly, the city manager for Hermosa Beach, begins his new stint Nov. 1.

“They had 105 candidates for my position and they picked the very best one,” she said.

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