"We want to create conditions in the Bailiwick that make healthier behaviours easier"

Wednesday 29 November 2023

The island's Healthier Weight Strategy has been "refreshed" for a further two years.

The Committee for Health and Social Care has published its Healthier Weight Strategy for 2023-2025, which continues the work done by the Strategy between 2016 and 2023.

The States of Guernsey approved the Healthier Weight Strategy in 2016, with the aim of reducing obesity related mortality, the number of people who are classed as obese and increasing the number of people with a healthy diet.

In a media release the States of Guernsey said: "Following extensive engagement with stakeholders, the Strategy has been refreshed for a further two-year period, to bring it up to date with recent developments in the evidence base and local delivery mechanisms, most notably the formation of the Health Improvement Commission in 2018, and operational developments that Public Health Services and the Commission have commenced during the Strategy’s previous term."

The Strategy has three co-ordinated pillars of work:

Delivery of the Strategy is overseen by Public Health's partner, the Health Improvement Commission.

"Public Health has worked closely with the Health Improvement Commission to refresh the Strategy, and we look forward to continuing this strategic and operational collaboration to implement and deliver the actions," said Alex Hawkins-Drew, Associate Director of Public Health.

Healthier Weight Lead and Dietician, Ellie Gould, said: "We know that the wide ranging and complex causes of obesity are influenced by the environments in which we live and work. We want to create conditions in the Bailiwick that make healthier behaviors easier and empower people to make positive changes to their lives that will benefit their health and wellbeing. It is important too that people are provided with the right support services for them, at the times they need them, to enable them to move towards a healthier weight and improved health."

You can read the full strategy ONLINE.