Nottinghamshire County Council has agreed new services which will help more individuals in the County to achieve or maintain a healthy weight, and will help to address obesity as an issue in Nottinghamshire.

From April, Nottinghamshire residents will benefit from improved obesity prevention and weight management services including:
Healthy eating and physical activity,
Community-based support for individuals to achieve changes in their lifestyle and manage their weight
‘Tier three’ professional support which will be able to provide a full assessment, manage lifestyle interventions and evaluate any further treatment options.

In Nottinghamshire it is estimated that nearly 166,000 adults aged 16 and over, and more than 20,000 children (aged 2-15) are obese. The new services will allow the Council to proactively tackle the serious health issue, with in some parts of the county lifestyle based services for obesity and weight management available for the first time.

Councillor Joyce Bosnjak, Chair of the Public Health Committee said:
“This is an important step in helping us tackle this vital issue for the health of Nottinghamshire. These new services will operate right across the county giving every resident the same opportunity for specialist support to help them lose weight or maintain a healthy weight in a variety of different scenarios.

“As with all areas in the country we have too many overweight and obese people in Notts. In the long term, that’s having a very serious impact on the health of individuals and as a whole population.

“We also know that caring for overweight and obese people has a considerable cost implication for our healthcare system – by helping more people achieve a healthier weight we can prevent them from needing that support, and helping reduce some of the strain on the system.”

The new contract which is worth approximately £5.5million over the next four years was approved at a Nottinghamshire County Council Public Health Committee meeting in December and will be delivered by Sports and Leisure Management Ltd.