Agenda item

The Head of Localities Commissioning (HLC) presented a report on ‘A New Strategic Approach to Healthy Weight in Barking & Dagenham’.

The HLC emphasised the need for radical change to confront the borough’s chronic obesity crisis, which had effectively been worsening since 2016 for adults and children, affecting approximately 65% of the population.

Whilst the current approach to tackle obesity was individualistic, only treating less than 1% of patients per year; a new community-led, partnership approach was essential. It was important to recognise the complexities affecting health such as environment, poverty, food and time in order to gain deeper insights into different communities who are marginalised. By creating new grounds for conversation and support, a communities-up approach would be in place to address health issues alongside the Council’s partnerships with the NHS, VCFSE, local groups and organisations.

Opportunities for targeted help such as the Localities programme, Good Food Plan, and additional funding for activities in Barking and Dagenham from Sport England were available however required engagement with communities in order to facilitate impactful, non-stigmatising change in the long-term.

A series of questions were asked to the DLC:

·  Members asked about the use of social prescribing, community hubs and volunteers in supporting the new approach to Healthy Weight in Barking and Dagenham. The DLC explained the need to use existing infrastructure such as the above listed, to provide support and information about opportunities which would bring the community together. Introducing initiatives to promote health eating and exercise in community hubs through cooking clubs, or activities such as the Thames View walking club would help to include families and bring about social interaction to maintain a lasting impact. Members also supported suggestions for community-based allotments in alignment with the Good Food Plan which would create strong neighbourhood relations with a positive environmental effect,

·  Regarding NHS data which suggested that children from deprived areas were twice as likely to be obese than their counterparts,  Members were keen to understand the strategies in place to support children, in particular, the 31.7% (highest figure across England) of Year 6 children who were obese. The DLC agreed with Members that engaging with schools was key to support children and their families in navigating a positive lifestyle change to improve their health. This would require collaboration between different services, including Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) which would provide support to young people who may struggle with their mental health, potentially contributing to issues of overeating and obesity,

·  Members also brought forward concerns about residents’ lack of awareness of available healthy living services, as reported in a Healthwatch survey on healthy living in Barking and Dagenham. In response, the DLC agreed that they needed to work out how to reach people effectively, as they may not have engaged with healthy living services if they felt that such support was not relevant to their lives. This focus would also be community driven, and so ensured that information was not exclusively available digitally to include all residents, and

·  The Director of Public Health also brought attention to the importance of underweight issues as weight in general was the biggest public health challenge, and should also be recognised.

The Committee noted the report.