Make a Change 4 Life this year

Rochdale residents are being urged to take part in a new lifestyle campaign, ‘Change 4 Life’, which is trying to tackle the borough's obesity problem.

In Rochdale 26.1 % of adults and 11.7% of children aged five are obese. Obesity and overweight people are forecast to cost the nation £50 billion - half the entire NHS budget for a year - by 2050 if the trend continues unchecked.

Dr Sheila Will, director of public health at NHS Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale, said: “There are two key things we can do to be healthier. Eat healthier food and be more active. Healthy living should not be underestimated and it’s never too late. Obesity is a medical problem that can be reversed quickly and there are a number of services available locally that can help.”

Change 4 Life, a Government initiative, is calling for a lifestyle revolution and will help families to eat more healthy foods, get active and live longer. The campaign will help families to understand the harm that fat can cause to their children’s health. It warns that a bad diet and inactive lifestyle can lead to cancer, heart disease and diabetes.

Health experts say that if people don’t start to change their lifestyles, 90% of today’s children will be overweight or obese and at risk from serious diseases by 2050. As part of this new movement there will be extensive support and information to help families, and particularly children, live healthier lives.

As part of Change 4 Life, the Government is galvanising support from everyone in the country from grass roots organisations to leading supermarkets and charities.

Public Health Minister Dawn Primarolo said: “Change 4 Life has a critical ambition. We are trying to create a lifestyle revolution on a huge scale – something which no Government has attempted before.

“Change4Life is supportive, informative and reassuring – it’s not about telling families what to do and what to eat. We want families to engage with the campaign and understand that obesity is not someone else’s problem – it’s all of our problem.”

For more information and advice call 0300 1234567.

Visit the Change 4 Life website, www.nhs.uk/Change4life to do a postcode search to find local services such as cookery clubs, after-school activities and sporting facilities.

Visit www.hmr.nhs.uk to find out about the range of healthy lifestyle services in the borough.