Our Healthy Weight Principles will inform our approach to achieving the following aims:
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- To increase physical activity and healthy eating patterns across the population, with a
focus on our most vulnerable residents. - To encourage healthy relationships with physical activity, food and body image.
We expect this work will lead to an increased prevalence of residents who sit within a ‘healthy
weight’ range, as well as bringing improvements in wider health and wellbeing.
- To increase physical activity and healthy eating patterns across the population, with a
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Our Principles
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- Everyone’s easiest option should be the healthier option
Our physical and social environments can make it difficult to eat healthily and get the exercise
that we need. The degree to which this is true for different communities is inequitable. For
example, fast-food outlets in Islington are concentrated in the areas of greatest deprivation. As
a result, we see health inequalities in the borough such as disproportionate rates of overweight
and obesity in people living in more deprived areas and black ethnic groups. Our approach
seeks to promote equitable access to healthy food and physical activity so that it’s easier for all
residents to lead lives that support their health. This way, not all the responsibility is on the
individual.
We also recognise that poor diet and lack of physical activity can contribute to wider societal
inequalities, for example, affecting educational attainment or making it harder to sustain
employment. Our work to tackle inequalities will therefore aim to directly improve health through
diet and physical activity, but also indirectly improve other outcomes affected by diet, physical
activity and weight, thereby tackling wider societal inequalities. - Weight should not be stigmatised
People who are underweight, overweight or obese are often stigmatised in our society. This has
a negative impact on people’s mental and physical health. By tackling weight stigma through
our communications and in healthcare services, we can better support people to achieve their
health goals regardless of their weight.
These attitudes may change over time, especially as new ways of losing and managing weight
become available. Our approach will keep track of these changes and tackle stigma however it
shows up. - Health should be supported at different sizes
A ‘healthy weight’ can be difficult to achieve, and there are many biological, social and
environmental reasons for this. Our approach will help residents meet their nutritional and
physical activity needs, without focusing solely on weight. Weight should be seen as a ‘proxy’
measure for overall health. Eating well and keeping active can improve your health, whether
your weight changes or not. By not focusing solely on weight, we can better support people to
achieve their health goals without perpetuating poor relationships with the body, exercise and
food. This principle also supports our focus on early intervention: helping everyone avoid
developing health or weight issues in the future. - An inclusive and culturally competent approach should be taken
There are cultural differences in attitudes to body size, food and ways to stay active. As a
diverse and vibrant borough, we will make sure that our approach to healthy eating and physical
activity is inclusive of different cultures. For example, we will tailor our communications and
advice to different communities: reflecting a variety of cultural practices around food and ways
to move the body. - Early interventions and support across the life course should be delivered
People’s relationships to food, physical activity and body-image start at an early age. Our
approach will prioritise early-years support, because we know that helping families with children
between 0-4 years old can have a life-long positive impact. Additionally, we recognise
adolescence as a pivotal life stage where the social environment is key in developing
independent healthy habits and attitudes towards food, physical activity and body image.
Although these life stages will be a focus of our work, we acknowledge that eating healthy and
staying active is a life-long endeavour. We will tailor our approach to meet the needs of people
at different points in their lives. - The whole family should be supported
Both food and physical activity are important ways that we connect and socialise with people.
Whole family approaches support families and households to weave healthy food and physical
activity into their lives and shared environments, making it easier to sustain changes together.
Children especially rely on the adults in their lives to create an environment that encourages
healthy habits. By working with the whole family, we can enhance the support people get to eat
healthily and exercise more. - Psychologically informed approaches should be embedded
We know that relationships to food, weight and physical activity can have psychological and
emotional roots. As rates of overweight and obesity rise we are also witnessing an increase in
the prevalence of eating disorders in young people. By seeking to provide a psychologically
informed approach, particularly within our commissioned services, we can promote more
sustainable behaviour change and avoid perpetuating unhealthy relationships to food, activity
and the body. - A Whole Systems Approach should be taken
A range of social, environmental, economic and cultural factors influence residents’ ability to eat
healthily and get the exercise that they need. To support residents in reaching their health goals
and to turn the tide on the prevalence of overweight and obesity in the population, we need to
work collaboratively with local partner organisations. We will embed whole systems approaches
and foster effective partnership working.
We acknowledge that many of the important levers sit at a national rather than local level. To
achieve a truly whole systems approach, we will advocate for national action where required, to
address the systemic barriers to physical activity and healthy eating
- Everyone’s easiest option should be the healthier option