The fight against obesity will be the focus of a new public health campaign in Manchester led by Manchester City Council.
The new five-year Healthy Weight Strategy aims to reverse the impact of obesity on the city’s population by exploring an approach that offers ways to reduce the risk of obesity and help maintain healthy lifestyles.
Social and health inequalities can have a negative impact on people’s life chances and life expectancy, and during the pandemic there was significant evidence that obesity is a major contributor to increased risk from Covid-19.
The strategy, led by Manchester’s population health and wellbeing team, has been informed by a variety of partners, all interested in improving health outcomes across the city, including the volunteer sector and charities, health workers, city planners and sports coaches, teachers and traders.
Four topics have emerged as key areas of action for the Council and its partners: nutrition and culture; Physical activity and exercise; Neighborhood and environment; Prevention and support.
David Regan, Director of Public Health, said, “The obesity health crisis cannot be addressed in isolation, it is a complex, multi-stranded area and it is not just about focusing on unhealthy food choices and low activity. Our new holistic systems approach looks at everything from parks and recreational facilities, licenses and dining establishments to traffic and the built environment, and examines whether there is the right support to help people change their behavior and encourage them to make the right decisions to meet in the future.
“We know it’s not easy, but even small changes in eating and increasing activity levels can lead to improvements in health and wellbeing, and often these increases are what drives people to go further and make even bigger improvements to achieve. Our plan is to ensure that our work in all sectors gives people the opportunity, knowledge and tools to make change for the better. “
Obesity is a major health crisis nationwide, and in Manchester, 63% of adults and 41% of children aged 6 (ages 10-11) were overweight or obese before Covid-19 was above the national average. It is estimated that overweight and obesity-related illness costs were £ 185.1 million in Manchester in 2015.
The strategy explores what can be done throughout a person’s life, from pregnancy to old age, and targets interventions at each stage of life to encourage people to become more active, adopt healthier diets and lifestyles, and do better Make decisions to reduce your risk of obesity. It has adopted best practices from cities in the UK and Europe where obesity rates have reversed and decreased.
Some of the measures range from reducing food poverty, high fat and high sugar foods, training individuals to produce healthy food and changing consumer culture and behavior, to promoting active travel and opportunities for people to be physically active. especially now that the lockdown has been eased and residents can once again take advantage of health and fitness facilities in the local leisure centers. Consistent messages, early intervention, school education programs on healthy eating and living, access to food clubs that offer subsidized food are just some of the ways the partnership will move the strategy forward.
