Obesity
Obesity is a growing problem in Wirral and a major threat to health. Obesity increases the risk to several health problems such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes and a few types of cancer.
In Wirral, one in every three adults is overweight and one in every four is obese. Obesity also affects about 8,000 of our children and young people. National trends show that the picture is going to get worse unless we act now.
NHS Wirral is working to reduce obesity levels by helping schools to achieve Healthy Schools Status and increase pupils’ uptake of physical activity and healthy eating. We also provide a variety of activities (many free) around healthy eating, physical activity and positive mental health.
We employ Health Visitors to identify overweight children and provide appropriate support to children and their families and we offer a number of options for overweight and obese adults wanting to use a weight management service.
What is obesity?
The terms overweight and obese are used to describe a person whose weight is much more than it should be for their height (using national standards as a comparison).
The measurement used is called Body Mass Index, commonly abbreviated to BMI. This is the ratio between height and weight, reflecting the proportion of fat to muscle and other tissues.
BMI is measured by dividing a person’s weight (in kilograms) by the square of their height (in metres). The resulting figure is then compared with various other factors to give the overall BMI.
A person becomes overweight and obese through a poor diet, a lack of physical activity or a combination of both.
Preventing and overcoming obesity
There is information on losing weight, healthy eating and getting active on our website.
Please visit these pages:
Healthy Eating
www.wirral.nhs.uk/yourhealth/healthandwellbeing/healthyeating/
Health and Wellbeing
www.wirral.nhs.uk/yourhealth/healthandwellbeing/
Lifestyle and Weight Management Service
http://www.wirral.nhs.uk/yourhealth/obesity/
Young People's Weight Management Service
http://www.wirral.nhs.uk/yourhealth/healthandwellbeing/childrenandfamilies/youngpeople/weight.html
Cardiovascular Disease
www.wirral.nhs.uk/focuson/cardiovasculardisease/
Useful Links
www.wirral.nhs.uk/yourhealth/healthandwellbeing/useful_links.html
Get your free tape measure
NHS Wirral can provide you with a free ‘measure yourself fit’ tape measure, to help you reduce your risk of heart disease.
Please call the Have Your Say team on freephone 0800 085 1547 or email haveyoursay@wirral.nhs.uk and they will arrange to send you one in the post.