Healthy Weight for all Children
09 Mar 2023 ARCHIVED (over 3 months old) - view latest news
In her final annual report as Northumberland’s Director of Public Health, Liz Morgan highlights the importance of creating the conditions to enable all children to be a healthy weight.
Each year Directors of Public Health are statutorily required to produce an annual independent report on the health of their population and recommend actions to improve health and reduce inequalities.
Liz Morgan said: “Creating the conditions to enable all our children to be a healthy weight means focusing on the evidence, which shows the balance is tipped towards our environment and how children live, learn, play and grow.
“This report isn’t about large-scale additional investment, it is more about how the power and influence of organisations and staff can be harnessed to create the environments which will give children and young people the best opportunities for healthy, nutritionally balanced food and active lives to be part of everyday routines.
“Working as a collective system on infrastructure and policy change can be complex and will require us to overcome several hurdles, but that is the proposal for this year’s report which focuses on how we can enable ALL our children to maintain a healthy weight.”
Key recommendations in the report include:
1. Reframing our approach
Overweight and obesity have long been considered through the lens of individual responsibility, and the result of insufficient knowledge or willpower to make healthy choices. This report shows the need to look more widely at the ways in which our homes, communities, schools and healthcare systems can better support children to live healthy, active lives.
2. Strategy development and implementation
Childhood healthy weight to be a core priority in new and existing strategies including the Northumberland Food Insecurity plan and the Northumberland Physical Activity Plan, to ensure there are steps in place to improve the opportunities for Northumberland’s children to stay healthy.
3. Collaboration
Develop a healthy weight alliance to build on the good work already being done across Northumberland, bringing communities and agencies together to ensure a coordinated approach.
4. Using data and local insights
Make best use of data to inform plans and ensure work is prioritised and targeted to those areas where they are most needed and fully involve communities to understand what is important to them.
5. Communication and sharing good practice
Good communication will make it clearer what support is available to help families achieve and maintain healthy weight and how to access this support.
Northumberland County Councillor Guy Renner-Thompson, cabinet member for Childrens Services, said: “We know that highly processed foods are cheaper than healthier foods, making them an understandable choice for families who are struggling.
“We are working together to do all we can in supporting our families and young people, to have access to healthy food and the opportunity to lead active lives.
“We welcome this report and its recommendations which will help us to move forward in supporting everyone, right across Northumberland, to lead long and healthy lives.’
Northumberland County Councillor, Wendy Pattison, cabinet member for adult wellbeing said: “The recommendations in this report aim to firmly place children’s healthy weight as a top priority for us in Northumberland.
“We need to work hard to ensure our young people and their families have access to affordable, healthy food, and opportunities to be physically active, though play, leisure and safe active travel.
“With many significant challenges facing our society today, it is easy to feel overwhelmed and unsure what can be done. This report helps to identify where we are already succeeding and how we can work together to use the knowledge and skills to ensure the next generation lead happier, healthier lives.”
The full report can be found here:
www.northumberland.gov.uk/Care/Health.aspx#publichealth