[C]umbria County Council’s Public Health department is hosting a ‘Healthy Weight Summit’ this Friday, 23 March, and tackling obesity is top of the agenda.
The council has invited more than 100 representatives to join the Summit – including colleagues from district and borough councils, local education and health sectors, and local businesses including food producers and suppliers.
The Summit seeks to make obesity everybody’s business, to outline the challenges in Cumbria, to share some of the positive actions that organisations are already implementing, and to seek a cross-section of views from the people who attend.
Those attending the Summit will take part in a series of workshops, and listen to various speakers, including Cumbria County Council’s Director of Public Health, Colin Cox, and Lindsey Ormesher, the council’s Public Health Lead for Children and Families in Cumbria.
Cllr Deborah Earl, Cabinet Member for Public Health and Community Services, said: “We want Cumbria to be a place where everyone is able to enjoy an active, healthy and fulfilling life.
“Obesity is quickly becoming a significant barrier to this so we need to take action now.
“We hope the Summit will help us to set the scene and work with others to reverse some worrying trends.”
Cumbria Facts
- 1 in 3 children in year 6 have excess weight and obesity (35.5%)
- More than 1 in 4 children starting reception class in Cumbria have excess weight and obesity (28.2%)
- Barrow-in-Furness has the greatest % of overweight/obese Reception age children (31.5%)
- Copeland has the greatest % of overweight/obese Year 6 children (41.4%)
- 2 in 3 adults age 16+ are overweight (66.9%)
Colin Cox, Cumbria County Council’s Director of Public Health said: “Obesity is considered to be one of the most serious public health challenges of the 21st century. It is having an impact on people’s lives now, across the generations, in terms of our quality of life, our risk of developing chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and its association with common mental health disorders.
“Without action, the health of children and adults will continue to suffer, health inequalities associated with obesity will remain and the economic and social costs will increase to unsustainable levels.
“This really is everybody’s business and I hope that the Summit will allow us to work with a wider cross section of people to help tackle obesity in Cumbria together.”
Follow tweets from the Healthy Weight Summit on Friday via the hashtag #HealthyWeightCumbria and via the council’s Twitter handle @CumbriaCC.
