Five year plan unveiled to help Sunderland residents shed the pounds
With one in two Year 6 children in Sunderland classed as overweight or obese, the City Council has has launched its five-year strategy to help the city’s residents to shed the pounds and live healthier lives.
The Sunderland Healthy Weight Strategy 2026-2031 has been created with partners including the NHS, education sector, voluntary and community sector, workplaces, and the Sunderland Good Food Partnership.
It sets out a plan to tackle one of the city’s major health challenges -unhealthy weight. One in three children start school overweight or obese, with children in the most deprived communities twice as likely to be affected.
The strategy focuses on creating environments that help residents to live healthy and active lives, setting out a plan to address the environmental, social and economic factors that influence health.
The first key focus is on targeting infants and young children by improving early years nutrition, breastfeeding support, infant feeding, Family Hubs and school environments.
Another area of focus is on enabling people to live in healthier communities and environments, boosting access to physical activity, community support and affordable nutritious food, alongside inclusive weight management services.
This will work alongside stricter licensing on fast food outlets, and the use of “planning, and transport to create healthier, safer, more active and better-connected neighbourhoods”.
The strategy also highlights the importance of all invested parties working collaboratively towards goals and targets.
By shaping things like transport, housing and local food offers with health in mind, the strategy aims to reduce inequalities and improve long-term health outcomes.
Councillor Kelly Chequer, Sunderland City Council’s Cabinet Member for Health, Wellbeing and Safer Communities, said: “The strategy recognises that achieving and sustaining healthy weight requires healthy places and reflects our commitment to working with partners across the city to ensure that the environment in Sunderland makes it as easy as possible for residents to live healthy lives.
"Embedding these principles will help us achieve our shared vision of improved health and reduced health inequalities for all.”
The strategy has been put forward by Sunderland’s Health and Wellbeing Board.
As well as improving people’s diets, a key aspect of the strategy is about getting people more active.
The latest national data shows that children and young people in Sunderland now have higher levels of daily physical activity than the UK average.