Agenda item

Report to follow, presentation from Val Miller, Public Health Specialist for Healthy Weight, KCC.

Val Miller, Public Health Specialist for Healthy Weight, KCC led discussion with a presentation to the Board. She said that the Action Plan was still work in progress and that it was an iterative process as officers were still collating information from partner agencies including KCC. Adult excess weight was prevalent in the county, with two thirds of adult population viewed as being obese. Prevalence of obesity in Year 6 school children was observed as well.

The Board was concerned about children leaving primary school overweight. It was reported that other Health and Wellbeing Boards were working on similar issues using the same action plan template across Kent. The causes of obesity were shared in the 2007 Foresight Report’s 108 factors that included genetics, exercise, environment, diet and psychology.

Val Miller said that it was important for organisations to start thinking about workforce development to help address this significant health issue. Providing training to frontline staff to pass on the message on healthy weight would build the confidence of staff to engage residents and raise issues about obesity when providing them with services. It was also essential that adequate resources would need to be commissioned to provide services for weight loss to individuals who require such services.

Concerns were raised about the BME and disability groups being under represented at forums were these issues were debated. There was a need for joined up working and for the Board to use its influence to identify sources of funding that could be shared and accessed for weight loss services.

Communication across agencies was key in order to share information on what different agencies were doing in addressing this health issue. Having an influence over planning, licensing, leisure and environmental services would also help fight obesity for the local communities. Children in the age group 11-19 years did not have as much services to help them with overweight problems. There was a need to consider early health notification and child protection issues when dealing with overweight children. There was a key role to be played by the media, elected Members, local role models and campaigns. It was observed that the sugar tax recently introduced was a step in the right direction by government.

Members suggested that this action plan on healthy weight be made part of the Thanet Health & Wellbeing Board agenda. This plan could include working with schools and nurseries programmes that promote healthy weight for children as well as the diversionary activities by the Justice system that work with children that were picked off streets. It was important to be aware that children from deprived areas and families were more vulnerable and susceptible to obesity problems.

The interventions should therefore aim to reach out to these marginalised individuals and families. Identifying health champions in partner agencies’ staff would also be a good start. Attention should be given to creating play spaces when decisions are made by the Council’s planning department. Parks and cliff walks should also be promoted. These efforts could be supplemented by sending out subtle messages like promoting smoke free homes for families. The Board should ask difficult questions that would help progress the agenda for healthy weight. This could include challenging the services that were being provided by vending machines in work places, leisure centre leasing conditions and the general food marketing approaches by organisations.

The Board noted the presentation.