18 Sep 2018 Healthy Weight Declaration Update at Public Health England North West Network Meeting
This morning Food Active presented an update on the Local Government Declaration on Healthy Weight at the Public Health England North West Healthy Weight and Physical Activity Network Meeting, at the HSBC National Cycling Centre in Manchester.
Robin Ireland, Director of Research and Nicola Calder, Project Manager of the Declaration Monitoring and Evaluation Tool at Food Active presented an update to around 35 representatives from across the North West and from both the regional (North West and Yorkshire and Humberside) and national Public Health England department.
Lynn Donkin, Public Health Specialist at Blackpool Council also kindly joined Robin and Nicola to share Blackpool’s experience in adopting the declaration and to discuss some of the ongoing work in the area as a result of adopting the declaration over 2 years ago. Blackpool’s work has been recognised nationally for it’s efforts to tackle childhood obesity in the area, namely in the Local Government Association ‘Healthy Weight, Healthy Futures’ report and the Childhood Obesity Plan chapter 2 case studies.
Nicola presented details on the recently launched Monitoring and Evaluation Tool, which has been developed to support current and prospective adopters of the Declaration. Using a ‘live’ process evaluation method, the tool aims to demonstrate impact through monitoring and reviewing.
Also presenting at the meeting was Margie Van Dijk, Obesity and Health Weight Higher Executive Officer at Public Health England to discuss the Whole Systems Approach to Obesity, with colleagues from Leeds Beckett Professor Paul Gately and Joanna Saunders who have been leading the project with Public Health England. There are many synchronicities between Food Active and PHE’s approaches with audits of local systems, collaboration, flexibility and leadership identified as essential to whole systems approaches to addressing complex issues such as obesity.
If you are interested in speaking to one of the Food Active team about adopting the Declaration or the Monitoring and Evaluation Tool, please contact info@foodactive.org.uk
