Issue - meetings

The Mayor and Executive Member for Adult Social Care submitted a report for Executive’s consideration.

The purpose of the report was to seek approval from Executive to progress with Middlesbrough Council’s adoption of the Healthy Weight Declaration, ensuring it was aligned to the Council’s ‘Health and Wellbeing’ recovery plan and the wider Public Health South Tees Strategy, which a particular focus to reduce obesity levels and thereby improve both the health of local communities and those working for the council. 

The report also outlined the aim of the HWD to increase the number of people living in Middlesbrough who are a healthy weight and to improve nutrition and hydration outcomes across the town.

The report provided a summary of the current obesity rates in Middlesbrough for children and adults either overweight, living with obesity or living with severe obesity. It demonstrated the HWD 16 commitments that provided strategic vision and aspiration for the council. It also offered a rationale and platform to connect council teams, bringing them together to raise awareness about the importance of healthy weight and to deliver interventions.

Being overweight or living with obesity increased the risk of serious health problems, including disability, disease and death, and had substantial long-term economic, wellbeing and social costs. Diet and obesity-related ill-health had a huge financial impact on the NHS with estimates that it cost the UK around £6 billion each year, before we consider the economic and societal impacts due to reduced productivity and obesity-related illness that made people unable to work.

In Middlesbrough, an estimated 71% of adults (18+) were overweight or living with obesity, with 28% mothers living with obesity in early pregnancy.

OPTIONS

No other options were put forward as part of the report.

ORDERED That Executive:

1.    Agree to signing the Healthy Weight Declaration as a tool to gain leadership support and promote the Local Authority’s commitment to addressing obesity.

2.    Identifies an elected member champion who will help to progress the HWD through the democratic process.

3.    Identifies opportunities for leaders to promote the HWD as part of a wider system.

REASONS

It was important that Executive had oversight of the Local Authority’s commitment to achieving the HWD. The HWD would be integral to achieving this by enabling all Directorates across the council to consider the impact they could have to promote and encourage healthy weight.