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Obesity
Obesity is associated with many illnesses and is directly related to increased mortality and lower life expectancy. Tackling obesity is a government wide priority..
Healthy Weight, Healthy lives: A Cross-Government strategy for England
This strategy supports the creation of a healthy society - from early years, to schools and food, from sport and physical activity to planning, transport and the health service.
It will bring together employers, individuals and communities to promote children’s health and healthy food; build physical activity into our lives; support health at work; and provide the incentives more widely to promote health. It will also provide effective treatment and support when people become overweight or obese.
Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives: Six Months on
This newsletter provides an update on progress since the publication of Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives: A Cross-Government Strategy for England in January 2008.
Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives: Consumer Insight Summary
This report is a summary of the results of research carried out for the Department of Health into families’ attitudes and behaviours relating to diet and activity. The research was carried out to enable interventions to promote healthy weight in children and families to be more effectively targeted and delivered. It is intended for use by obesity/health weight teams within primary care trusts (PCTs) and local authorities, but will also be of interest to anyone involved in the commissioning or implementation of initiatives aimed at encouraging families to improve their diet and/ or increase their levels of activity.
Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives: Commissioning weight management services for children and young people
This guide has been developed to support local areas in commissioning weight management services for children and young people. It is designed to reflect the move towards world class commissioning and joint commissioning of children’s services, and complements the existing suite of Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives publications.
The guide includes an introduction setting out the wider context and additional plans to provide support to commissioners in this area, and 15 separate tools covering key steps in the commissioning process.
Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives: A toolkit for developing local strategies
This toolkit is to help PCTs and Local Authorities plan, coordinate and implement comprehensive strategies to prevent and manage overweight and obesity. It provides information and tools including useful statistics, practical initiatives, evidence of effectiveness, checklists, frameworks and examples of good practice.
It is an update on the previous toolkit Lightening the Load: Tackling Overweight and Obesity: A toolkit for developing local strategies. There are new tools that provide a breakdown of the cost of obesity to every PCT. Other new tools include research from the upcoming Change4Life campaign that provides insight into families views on diet and activity.
Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives: A Cross-Government Research and Surveillance Plan for England
This document sets out the government plan for development of additional research and surveillance focused on obesity, overweight, and their determinants in England. The goal is to achieve co-ordinated action across government to deliver an evidence base for national policy-makers.
Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives: taking forward the healthy food code of good practice
The Agency and the Department of Health (DH) have jointly written to food industry leaders and other interested parties setting out plans to assist in delivering the Healthy Food Code of Good Practice.
The Healthy Food Code of Good Practice summarises the challenge to all sectors of the food industry to promote healthy eating.
Convenience stores Change4Life
On 13 November, the Department of Health and the Association of Convenience Stores launched a Change4Life pilot in the North East to improve the quality and promotion of fresh fruit and veg available in convenience stores including Spar, Londis, Costcutter, Premier, Nisa and Mills Group. They are investing in new chillers and storage areas and providing tips and hints to customers and staff on how to eat more fruit and vegetables. The aim is to recruit 120 stores across the North East by May 2009 and roll out nationally from Spring 2009. Anyone interested in participating in the scheme should contact Stephanie Rice, the Project Coordinator, via the email link below. Further information about the Change4Life campaign can also be found below.
Healthy Community Challenge Fund: Invitation to local areas
Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives: a cross-government strategy for England included a commitment to invest £30M between 2008/09 and 2010/11 in a Healthy Community Challenge Fund. The strategy stated that up to £5M would be given to a small number of interested local areas – badged ‘Healthy Towns’- to build on existing work in their communities and test out their ideas on what further action needs to happen to make activity and healthy food choices easier for people.
Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives: Guidance for Local Areas
This guidance follows on from the publication of the Government’s obesity strategy Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives: A Cross-Government strategy for England.
It sets out what actions PCTs and local authorities, and their partners, can take to deliver their child obesity goals as part of the NHS Operating Framework Vital Signs and the Local Government National Indicator Set.
Guidance on setting goals for local prevalence of child obesity
This guidance provides advice to PCTs and local authorities on how to set child obesity goals as part of the Vital Signs and the National Indicator Set.
Obesity Publications
National Child Measurement Programme
This national programme involves all children in Reception and Year 6 having their height and weight recorded. The exercise will take place in schools every year.
Additional links
Related links
Food and drink advertising
Foresight - Tackling Obesities - Future Choices Project
The Government asked Foresight in 2005 to carry out a review of obesity. Foresight reported its findings ‘Tackling Obesities: Future Choices’ Project in October 2007.
Obesity Care Pathway and Your Weight, Your Health
A comprehensive package of material (May 2006) for health professionals, as well as information to be given to patients, including Obesity Care Pathways for adults and children and a weight loss guide for patients.
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