One measure of the strength of a society is its health. And by that measure, Bermuda is not doing well.

While life expectancy is good and Bermudians have access to a high standard of health care, the community is less good at prevention, as statistics show.

Taken as a whole, we smoke and drink too much, we eat too many fatty foods, we do not exercise enough and we often have too much stress in our lives.

It is hardly surprising then, that heart disease is the leading cause of death in Bermuda. Nor should it be surprising that diabetes levels are well above the international average.

These are habits that are learned early. Among teens, half of all deaths are from preventable health problems such as smoking, improper diet, lack of exercise, drinking, unsafe sexual behaviour, road accidents and drug use.

And habits begun in the teenage years are hard to shake later. Just ask most smokers.

Living healthier means living better and living longer. The organisers of Health Awareness Week deserve credit for their efforts this week; now the community needs to practise healthy habits all year round.