Friday, April 29, 2016

BRIGG COUNCILLOR DELIVERS HEALTHY MESSAGE

FROM NORTH LINCOLNSHIRE COUNCIL 

Adults across North Lincolnshire are being encouraged to take steps to improve their health and get active as figures reveal* that one in three adults are inactive.
Research shows that living healthily in midlife can double your chances of being healthy at 70 and beyond.
North Lincolnshire Council is supporting the ‘One You’ campaign to help adults across North Lincolnshire avoid future diseases caused by modern day life.
‘One You’ aims to encourage adults, particularly those in middle age to take control of their health to enjoy significant benefits now and in later life.
People in North Lincolnshire have lower healthy life expectancy than the England average. Healthy life expectancy (years spent in ‘good health’) for males in North Lincolnshire is significantly below the pension age of 65.
According to data from Public Health England, the biggest threat to people in midlife in North Lincolnshire is lifestyle issues, particularly smoking, drug and alcohol use, obesity and inactivity. 
Figures show:
  • The proportion of adults who are overweight or obese is significantly above the national average at 69.6 per cent compared to 64.6 per cent in England and 33 per cent are classed as obese.
  • The adult smoking rate is 17.9 per cent and North Lincolnshire has significantly higher smoking related deaths.
  • One in three adults are physically inactive compared to one in four in England
  • Alcohol related hospital admissions continue to rise although similar to the national average.
  • Everyday habits and behaviours, such as eating too much unhealthy food, drinking more alcohol than is recommended, continuing to smoke and not being active enough, are responsible for around 40 per cent of all deaths in England, and cost the NHS more than £11 billion a year.
The One You campaign will provide information to help adults to move more, eat well, drink less alcohol and be smoke free, and also offer details on how people can reduce their stress levels and sleep better.
The One You website encourages adults to take an online health quiz called ‘How Are You’. This will provide personalised recommendations based on the results and direct people to tools and advice to help them take action where it’s most needed. Each topic heading on the website provides further details.
To take the quiz, visit: www.nhs.uk/oneyou/hay#tfBydKMmrWQgvX8i.97
Locally there are many forms of lifestyle related support services to keep people healthy and having a free NHS Health Check is a good place to start.
For more details on what support services are available locally, visit www.northlincs.gov.uk/people-health-and-care/health-and-healthy-lifestyle/
Coun Rob Waltham, of Brigg, Cabinet Member for Health, Strategic Projects and Regeneration, said: “We are supporting the ‘One You’ campaign to encourage people throughout North Lincolnshire to rethink their health and consider if there is more they can be doing to ensure they are living healthily.
“The ‘How Are You’ quiz is a brilliant way of evaluating your lifestyle choices and personal circumstances to find out if they are having a positive or negative effect on your health. When you have completed the quiz it will provide you with further details and advice on how you can improve your health (if needed) related to your needs.
“It is surprising that one in three adults are inactive in North Lincolnshire. Keeping active is extremely important and we want to encourage as many adults as possible to increase their physical activity, whether that is walking or high intensity exercise – it all makes a difference.”
Dr Robert Jaggs-Fowler, Medical Director at North Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group, welcomed the campaign, which personalises advice to take into account the real lives of people and the day-to-day pressures they are under.
“Whilst we cannot always have an active or outdoor job or avoid a long commute in the car or public transport, there are ways we can reduce sitting time throughout the day,” said Dr Jaggs-Fowler. “Try to do some tasks standing, like telephone calls, catch-up conversations, or even meetings. Some people spend their breaks checking their phones, but if you’re going to do this, maybe do it standing up or at least move away from your desk.
“During evenings, a lot of people simply swap their desk for the sofa, or work computer for a laptop or games console. While we all relax in different ways, it’s a good idea to try and fit some activity or more active hobbies into your leisure time. This is also a good example to set at home if you have children, as habits we learn when young tend to stick with us into adulthood.”
Professor Sir Muir Gray, clinical adviser for the One You campaign, said: “Although it has been customary to blame people for their ‘lifestyle’ we now appreciate that we need to take into account the environmental pressures that make it difficult to make healthy choices, having to sit eight hours a day at work for example and then drive an hour home. One You is designed to help every individual identify not only their risks but also the pressures they face in their life and the stress that results, and then support them with personalised tools and advice.”

* Data from Public Health England.