Mark Twain openly marvelled at the restorative powers of Bermuda, saying a visit to the Island did him more good than any dozen doctors.

Of course, this was Victorian Bermuda, a largely stress-free environment where there was “no rush, no hurry, no money-getting frenzy, no fretting, no complaining, no fussing and quarrelling; no telegrams, no daily newspapers, no railroads, no tramways, no subways, no trolleys ... no Republican party, no Democratic party, no graft, no office-seeking, no elections, no legislatures for sale; hardly a dog, seldom a cat, only one steam-whistle; not a saloon, nobody drunk; no Women’s Christian Temperance Union; and there is a church and a school on every corner. The spirit of the place is serenity, repose, contentment, tranquility.”

The less welcome intrusions of modernity, so blessedly absent in Twain’s time, are today everywhere present. And serenity, repose, contentment and tranquility are increasingly conspicuous by their absence.

Indeed, boasting as it does such a very heavy concentration of stress-generating factors in such a limited land mass, Bermuda could likely provide a laboratory for medical researchers, psychiatrists and social scientists studying the downside of 21st century life.

Stress has, of course increased, as Bermudians attempt to contend with the ongoing pressures of a six-year economic downturn. Simply put, while pressure can be classified as stimulating and motivating under normal circumstances, it becomes stressful during extended periods when it entirely exceeds an individual’s ability to cope with it.

Stress manifests itself in everything from a spectrum of psychiatric and emotional disorders to various types of addictive behaviour and, left untreated, can result in serious heart, stomach and bowel illnesses; anecdotal evidence suggests it is now perhaps the leading cause of workplace absenteeism in Bermuda.

And it’s not just the health consequences of a more frenetic, more fast-paced and entirely less settled existence we have to contend with, bad enough as these are

The bald fact of the matter is too many serious illnesses in Bermuda are avoidable, resulting from poor or uninformed individual choices. In Twain’s time, for instance, Bermudians were among the best exercised people in the world, walking or bicycling everywhere and logging more miles per week than a latter-day runner training for a marathon. Today we have become an entirely more sedentary people. We use our cars or bikes for even the shortest errands and vegetating and channel-surfing have become so prevalent they now threaten to supplant cricket and football as our twin national pastimes.

Similarly, Twain’s Bermuda was one where ingredients for most meals came straight from the back garden and were not purchased from a gas station food mart.

We routinely overindulge in highly-processed, mass-produced foods. And what these may offer in convenience, they too often entirely lack in nutritional value and health benefits.

In too many instances we are literally eating ourselves to death. In a world plagued by malnutrition, the West is suffering from the consequences of excess consumption. Morbid obesity is on the rise in Bermuda, with all the health risks that entails, and even those who do count the calories when purchasing processed foods are clearly not studying the nutritional information on the labelling.

Swimming in chemical additives, preservatives and salt, those who eat a steady diet of packaged meals put themselves at considerably higher risk for illnesses ranging from heart disease to diabetes compared to those who prepare their own dishes using largely fresh ingredients.

Then there is the hard to satisfy Bermudian sweet-tooth. Carbonated soft drinks were once marketed as “sugar water” and still should be if truth-in-advertising regulations are to have any real meaning. Too many breakfast cereals remain little more than candy you immerse in milk, the cardboard packaging they come in likely containing more nutritional value than the contents. And Bermudians’ favourite tipple, rum, is of course nothing more than fermented sugar cane.

There are welcome signs that Bermudians may finally be waking up to the deadly impact these self-inflicted injuries are having on individuals, families and an overburdened Bermuda healthcare system.

Just this weekend hundreds of local resident came out for two community health awareness events — the Bermuda Cancer and Health Centre’s Relay For Life at the National Sport Centre and the fun day to promote health and fitness at Ricky’s Barber Shop on Glebe Road.

The organisers of both events are to be both congratulated and thanked.

By not just joining the parade for raised health awareness but carrying the banner, groups like the Cancer and Health Centre and individuals like Ricky Spence are ensuring the message reaches a wider, more receptive audience than any number of well-intended lectures, brochures and public service announcements.

Increasingly widespread community recognition of the health risks we create for ourselves with our lifestyle choices is more necessary now than ever before.

Mark Twain, who famously loathed all forms of exercise except for sleeping and resting, once said his unorthodox fitness regimen had allowed him to reach an advanced age. But he warned others to avoid the road he took -- “My habits protect my life,” he said, “but they would assassinate you.”

As was so often the case, the old sage of the Mississippi was right.