How to have your say on Shropshire plan to tackle 'relentlessly' rising obesity levels

It comes as figures have revealed that more adults in Shropshire are overweight than they are a healthy weight (67 per cent), while 32 per cent are obese – higher than the UK average.

More than one in five children aged four to five years old are overweight or very overweight, while more than one in 10 are obese. And nearly one in three children aged 10 to 11 are 'overweight' or 'very overweight' – with almost one in five are obese.

Shropshire Council's Healthier Weight Strategy will focus on people living in more deprived areas of the county, who are disproportionately affected by unhealthy weight and its consequences.

The strategy's main objectives are to improve the county's wider food environment to promote healthier weight, to reduce inequalities and to enable a system that can support healthier weight.

The consultation has launched today and people have been urged to share their views in the form of a short online questionnaire.

The final strategy will be based on the feedback received during the consultation.

Cecilia Motley, Shropshire Council’s cabinet member for public health, adult social care and communities said: “The health and wellbeing board are pleased to support a consultation on the new draft healthier weight strategy.

"Views from the public and from stakeholders have already been valuable to the early stages of planning and will continue to shape this strategy so that it benefits as many people as possible.”

Access to and the affordability of healthy food is a key barrier to healthy diets, particularly for those on low-incomes, with 53 per cent of people saying they feel 'priced out' of buying healthy food.

To tackle this, Shropshire Council plans to increase the procurement of healthy and sustainable food in public places, while reducing the influence of unhealthy food marketing and advertising.

The council is also looking to reduce the provision of unhealthy food, while simultaneously improving access to local, nutritious and affordable food.

Supporting prevention in early years is also a key strategy put across by the council, with the aim of providing support to pregnant people and their families, to help shape children's lifelong dietary habits.

Rachel Robinson, Shropshire Council’s director of public health added: “At Shropshire Council, we recognise the challenges that our residents face in maintaining a healthy weight.

“With this in mind, the focus of our proposed strategy is making sure that healthy living becomes easier for everybody; working with our partners to remove barriers, reduce inequalities and promote the opportunities that are available.

“The draft strategy is based on the feedback we received during community engagement, so that our plans fit with the experiences of our residents.

"We are really grateful to everybody who took the time to share this information with us and would encourage people to let us know what they think about the draft strategy now.

“Your views are important to us and will help us to launch an effective strategy that supports our residents to live healthier lives for longer.”

The formal draft consultation runs from today for 10 weeks, closing on September 7.

To view the draft strategy in full, visit shropshire.gov.uk/get-involved/healthier-weight-strategy-for-shropshire-2023-2028-draft-strategy-consultation