[C]OPELAND Council has pledged to play its part in tackling obesity.
The authority has signed up to the Cumbria-wide Healthy Weight Declaration, promising to work together to support initiatives to promote healthy weight.
In agreement with the other members of the Cumbria Public Health Alliance, the council has signed up to four areas for action:
- To lead local action on preventing obesity
- To give children the best start in life, helping them to maximise their opportunities
- To follow best practice
- To get departments to highlight their role in tackling healthy weight
The World Health Organisation has described childhood obesity as one of the planet’s most serious public health challenges. In Copeland 75.9 per cent of adults are overweight or obese and 30 per cent of adults do less than 30 minutes’ of exercise each week.
Councillor Mark Holliday, Copeland’s portfolio holder for Health and Wellbeing, said: “Health is everyone’s business and it is extremely important to us that our residents do not miss out on life opportunities because of weight issues. We know that as a borough we need to improve our obesity statistics and we are determined to do so. This declaration gives us a collaborative framework to ensure we tackle it together and achieve meaningful and lasting results.”
Copeland Council leads the Copeland Health and Wellbeing Forum, which has made healthy weight for primary school children a priority.
The Cumbria Public Health Alliance includes representatives from all local authorities plus other organisations such as the police and fire services.
Signing the Cumbria Healthy Weight Declaration supports Copeland Council’s ‘ambition’ of “Employment, Skills and Social Wellbeing” and its strategic outcome of “working with partners to support the most vulnerable.”
