One of every two local residents is at high risk for heart disease and over 40 percent are overweight, according the results of a health survey released yesterday.

The frightening findings are directly tied to poor lifestyle choices, Government Health Promotion Coordinator Dr. Leonard Gibbons said yesterday.

Most residents could significantly improve their health by simply making small changes to lifestyle.

The findings are based on health screenings of 276 people recently conducted by the Phoenix Stores and the Department of Health's community nurses. Participants' blood pressure and cholesterol levels were tested and they were asked about contributory factors for heart disease such as diet and exercise frequency.

Heart disease is Bermuda's leading cause of death and it is strongly linked to lifestyle, The Royal Gazette was told.

While, Dr. Gibbons cautioned the study is not representative of the overall population as it drew on a limited sample of participants, the results were eye-opening.

One-third of participants reported they do absolutely no exercise at all yet 54 percent choose high fat foods most or all of the time. As a result 48 percent of those tested are at high risk for heart attack against just ten percent showing low risk levels.

"The research shows that there is room for improvement in people's diet, exercise and weight control which impacts risk for heart disease," Dr. Gibbons said.

Simple changes can go far to improving heart health, however. Dr. Gibbons told The Royal Gazette he participated in a university study aimed at reducing hypertension in 40 participants.

Half of the group were given a regular portion of fruit daily - two bananas, two cups of orange juice, and a box of raisins - in addition to their regular diet, while the other group continued to eat normally.

When the results came in the fruit group had significantly lower blood pressure than the control group.

Exercise is another important factor, Dr. Gibbons said. "It can be just taking the stairs instead of the elevator or walking for the five minutes on your coffee break," he said. "We are not trying to get people to go out and do hours and hours of exhausting activities. Starting small can make a big difference."

Not all the news emerging from the survey was bad, however. Dr. Gibbons said some participants who were tested early in the screening period, made lifestyle changes and were re-tested a number of weeks later.

"Their health indicators showed improvement," he said.

Dr. Gibbons advised those ready to make heart healthy changes to first visit a physician to get a true idea of their overall health. "We tend to overestimate ourselves and think we are doing better than we are," he said.

And many symptoms of dangerous health indicators will not show themselves until it is too late.