Read the full Director of Public Health annual report 2023 (PDF 5.9MB)
Most of us are aware that smoking has a big impact on our health, and there is increasing awareness that our weight, our food choices and how much alcohol we drink make a big difference too. Perhaps that awareness is a bit hazy and the interactions between some of those factors are not so well understood. Many of us try hard on healthy weight but it definitely isn’t easy and not all of it is within our own control as we shall see. The picture shows some relevant facts and figures about the weight of our residents.
Being a healthy weight partly depends on our own personal choices including what and how much we choose to eat and drink, and how many calories we burn at work or in leisure activities. After all it is a simple sum of how much energy we take in and how much we use up. If they are not equal, our weight goes up or down.
That sounds simple, but the choices we make depend on the world around us. For example, when we make a choice about how to get from one place to another it is influenced by whether there is a walking or cycling route which is safe from traffic, whether we have health conditions which make moving difficult, whether the route seems safe from crime and violence and much more.
Similar factors play into other decisions. If we try to follow guidelines on healthy food, it can be influenced by how much we can afford, what choice is offered in the shops we use, dietary requirements we might have because of allergies or faith, and how good our cooking skills are, amongst others.
It is also true, of course, that being of healthy weight influences both our choices and also other aspects of our health. Heart disease, cancers, diabetes, arthritis are all examples of serious health problems affected by weight. There are many other examples too.
By adopting a ‘whole systems approach’ to healthy weight we will be helping to address a broad range of factors which impact on our health. A whole systems approach will involve working with all relevant partners to influence the wider determinants of health. This recognises that people’s health and weight status is often affected by the impact of many areas of life including education, employment, housing, transport, access to health and social care services, food and drink retailers and access to green spaces or parks. These impacts are more widely felt in less affluent areas, and it will be important to focus the work to help tackle health inequalities in our city.
This Annual Report from the Director of Public Health is intended to try and help both individuals and decision makers understand all of this and so make better decisions for better health for all of us.
I am grateful to staff in the Public Health Team at Newcastle City Council for the tremendous work they have put into preparing this report, and especially to those who have taken responsibility for individual sections. I am especially indebted to Liz Morgan who as Interim Director of Public Health for much of 2023 began the development of this report.
Dr Tony Hill, Interim Director of Public Health, Newcastle City Council
Read the full Director of Public Health annual report 2023 (PDF 5.9MB)
Give feedback and let us know if this page was helpful