New figures out today (Tuesday 7 October) show, for the first time, the cost of obesity in Herefordshire to the NHS.
Diseases related to being overweight cost £46.3 million last year and if no action is taken, this will rise to £51.4 million in 2015 - or around £250 for every man, woman and child in the county.
Herefordshire Primary Care Trust, the leader for the NHS in the county, works closely with Herefordshire Council and others on a series of local programmes to tackle obesity. They will be using a new toolkit - called Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives - that gives helps local health and social care professionals to help people to eat more healthily and be more active. And the two organisations will be taking part in a forthcoming Change4Life campaign, to be launched in the autumn, which will focus on why families and parents sometimes find it difficult to live healthy lives.
Insight that the toolkit provides includes:
• Parents don't recognise that their children are overweight -
just 11.5 per cent of parents with overweight or obese children
recognise it;
• Parents underestimate how much unhealthy food and convenience
food they buy as well as overestimating the amount of activity
their children do;
• Only 38 per cent of adults know that obesity can lead to heart
disease and only 6 per cent know being overweight can cause
cancer;
• Many families use snacks as rewards, as fillers during times of
boredom and to appease conflict;
• Parents are more worried about not feeding their children enough
and the risk of eating disorders such as anorexia; and
• Lack of knowledge and skills is the main barrier, which stops
parents cooking from scratch.
Dr Akeem Ali, director of public health for Herefordshire, said: "Obesity is the curse of modern life and the biggest single challenge facing health care in this country. We eat too much and don't take enough exercise to burn off the calories. We live hectic lives and don't always have time to cook a healthy meal from scratch. After a busy day at work or school we may want to sit in front of the TV and who can blame us.
"But healthy eating and exercise does not have to be hard and it doesn't have to be expensive. We're not going to dictate to you what you should be eating or how you should be exercising. We simply want to give you the advice, help and support you need so you and your children can live longer, happier lives.
"Herefordshire has a very good health schools programme and a range of initiatives to encourage exercise and activity. The vital next phase is to bring all together, to harness its energy. By working together I mean not only the PCT and the council, not only the hospital and local GPs and not only local agencies and public services but particularly: local individuals and families, to stimulate discussion, understand the issues and make the changes we must to behaviours that help people to feel better and live longer".