Website of the Department of Health

Why should you support Change4Life?

If we carry on as we are, 90 percent of today’s children could be overweight or obese by 2050. We all need to address the rise in obesity for the sake of the future health of our children. The importance of health care practitioners to the success of Change4Life cannot be over-emphasised. As trusted advisers, you are influential and many in the health service will be the first point of contact for young families with at-risk children.

We need you to get behind the campaign  

You can do this simply by putting up Change4Life posters, giving out leaflets and sign-posting the public to further information.  All the information the public needs to get involved will be on the Change4Life website or they can call the helpline: 0300 123 4567.

We would also like to encourage you to use the Change4Life brand within your own healthy living communications (on your posters, leaflets and promotional items), or to use one of our sub-brands (such as walk4life or cook4life). Follow the link below to access our brand guidelines document (Principles and Guidelines for Government and the NHS) and to find out how to access our brand assets (logos, characters, font and images).

• Change4Life Principles and Guidelines for Government and the NHS document and a new way to access the brand assets.

Latest

Register for updates

We are recommending that anyone involved in supporting Change4Life should register as a Local Supporter – this includes all health care professionals. Registered Supporters will be sent regular email newsletters, which will alert them to the latest news about Change4Life plus launch dates and content of toolkits. Register at the link below or call 0300 123 1004.

• Change4Life Partners and Supporters (opens new window)
• Download information sheet outlining the all the resources that are currently available to Local Supporters (PDF, 400K)

Toolkits

Over the next few months Change4Life will be launching a number of toolkits to help local supporters to engage the public and change behaviour around healthy eating and increasing physical activity. These toolkits wil tie-in to the seven official sub-brands - Breakfast4Life, Swim4Life, Walk4Life, Bike4Life, Play4Life, Cook4Life and Dance4Life. The seven sub-brand logos are available to use now on any related activity and local supporters can access them on the hidden assets page. The toolkits will give ideas and information on how to make the most of these brands. So far Change4Life have launched the Breakfast4Life and Swim4Life Toolkits (both downloadable from the Change4Life website in the Partners and Supporters section).

• Change4Life Partners and Supporters (opens new window)

Swim4Life toolkit

The aim of Swim4Life is to try to get every child to learn to swim and enjoy swimming. The toolkit includes a Local Supporter guide to Swim4Life, top tips to help get families swimming (for Local Supporters and pool providers), games to play in the pool and also an inspirational film about the joys of swimming and demonstrations of swimming games. Swimming promotes the ‘up and about’ and ’60 active minutes’ behaviours. We have worked closely with the Amateur Swimming Association to develop these materials and with The Department of Culture, Media and Sport. Over 200 local councils in England are providing free swimming to those aged 16 and under.

• Download the toolkit (opens new window)
• Find out where you can swim for free (opens new window)

Breakfast4Life toolkit

The Breakfast4Life toolkit has been developed with the help of ContinYou – a community-learning organisation which works with young people to promote health messages. It’s full of tips, ideas and activities for families on how to have a healthy breakfast, whether it’s at home or on the go. The toolkit also includes a guide on how you can speak to families about Breakfast4Life, as well as activity sheets, posters and leaflets on what constitutes a healthy breakfast.

• Download the toolkit (opens new window)
• We have also made the toolkit available on CommsLink, the NHS communicators’ website (opens new window)

Other news

We're In - we need your help

The next phase of the campaign - We're In - is essential to ensure we develop Change4Life as a movement. This phase has been developed on the insight that many of the behaviours that we want at-risk families to adopt are considered difficult and challenging and people don't want to be the first ones to join in. We need to show families that people are already joining in, are making changes and having fun!

Working with our media partners we will use regional and local papers and radio to showcase all the activities that are going on across the country.  We will have lots of space and airtime to fill and so we need your help.  We have attached a pro-forma for you to fill in that will help us gather the information and case studies we need. 

The pro-forma is designed to give the sort of information that we and the press will require.  We are looking for regional/local activities that are run by NHS colleagues, local authorities, healthy schools, community groups etc – anyone supporting Change4Life at local level. 

• Download We're In pro-forma (DOC, 20K)

For more information about Change4Life

Please see our frequently asked questions about the Change4Life movement or call 0300 123 1004 between 9am – 6.30pm Monday-Friday. (Calls to 03 numbers should cost no more than geographic 01 or 02 UK wide calls, and may be part of inclusive minutes subject to your provider and your call package).

Keep watching these pages for the release of other useful resources.

• Download Change4Life resources information sheet (PDF, 400K)
• Letter from the Chief Medical Officer and the Chief Nursing Officer, 18 December 2008, inviting you to support Change4Life
• Download Change4Life posters, leaflets and other support materials
• Change4Life Principles and Guidelines for Government and the NHS document and a new way to access the brand assets.
• Frequently asked questions
• Further obesity information on this website