Leeds backs campaign to show living healthily in midlife can double chances of you being healthy at 70 and beyond

• Leeds has a smoking rate of over 23 per cent – well over the 18 per cent national average
• Around 40% of all deaths in England are related to behaviour
• The NHS spends more than £11bn a year on treating illnesses caused by the effects of diet, inactivity, smoking and drinking alcohol[i]

Today marks the launch of ‘One You’, a ground-breaking new campaign to help adults in Leeds avoid future diseases caused by modern day life. Everyday habits and behaviours - such as eating too much unhealthy food, drinking more than is recommended, continuing to smoke and not being active enough – are responsible for around 40% of all deaths in England,¹ and cost the NHS more than £11 billion a year.² ‘One You’ aims to encourage adults, particular those in middle age, to take control of their health to enjoy significant benefits now, and in later life.

Latest figures show that life expectancy at older ages is at record levels, yet many are spending their retirement living in ill health. Currently fifteen million Britons are living with a long-term health condition, yet studies show living healthily in middle age can double your chances of being healthy when you are 70.[ii]

The new campaign from Public Health England will help adults in Leeds to move more, eat well, drink less and be smoke free. One You will also provide information on how people can reduce their stress levels and sleep better.

It is encouraging adults to start by taking a new online health quiz, called ‘How Are You’. This innovative quiz provides personalised recommendations based on your results and directs people to tools and advice to help them take action where it’s most needed. Over half (56%) of 40-60 year olds taking the ‘How Are You’ quiz said they were likely to change their lifestyle to improve their health because of the feedback it gave them.[iii]

Councillor Lisa Mulherin, Chair of Leeds Health and Wellbeing Board, said:

“I know how modern day life makes it hard for people to live as healthily as we should. So many of us get bigger portions to eat and technology that allows us to shop, stay in touch and be entertained without ever having to leave the sofa.

“That’s why I’m backing One You. It gives people the chance to reappraise their lifestyle choices, put themselves first and do something about their own health before it’s too late.”

Professor Kevin Fenton, National Director, Public Health England said:

“For the first time, Public Health England is launching a campaign that talks to adults directly about all of the things they can do to improve their health. The scale of the campaign is unprecendented and includes new public and commercial partnerships with Asda, Slimming World, BBC Get Inspired and the Ministry of Defence.

“This will see One You in every community, on every high street, in local health services, on websites and in social media. We want everyone across the country to know that it is never too late to get your health back on track.”

For more information and to take the ‘How Are You’ online quiz, search ‘One You’ online now.

http://po.st/OneYou_Leeds

-ends-

Notes to Editors

For further information about One You Leeds, please contact:

Phil Morcom, Communications team, Leeds City Council, 2nd Floor East, Civic Hall, Leeds, LS1 1UR

Mobile: 07891 276270 www.leeds.gov.uk

• One You will launch on 7 March and use TV, digital and outdoor advertising to encourage adults to take stock of their health with the help of the ‘How Are You’ quiz.
• One You has significant support from both public and commercial partners. Our commercial partners supporting One You by:
• Asda is providing a free blood pressure check service and professional advice at all of its 255 in-store pharmacies. The supermarket is also offering British Hypertension Society Validated Blood Pressure Meters at an exclusive price of £7.50 (selling Not for Profit), to enable customers to keep an eye on and measure their blood pressure at home.
• BBC Get Inspired top talent from the BBC will be your new running coach. In a Public Health England first, BBC Get Inspired is partnering with One You to re-launch the popular Couch to 5K app, which is one of the free tools available through One You. The app will be available from 7th March, with further exciting updates and features to come.
• Slimming World is the largest group-based commercial weight loss organisation in the UK and Ireland and is celebrating the launch of One You in March with an exclusive offer of free membership when you sign up to a Slimming World Countdown and get 12 weeks’ of group support for the price of 10. There is also an online discount for members wanting to lose weight by following Slimming World’s online programme.
• PHE exists to protect and improve the nation’s health and wellbeing and reduce health inequalities. It does this through advocacy, partnerships, world-class science, knowledge and intelligence, and the delivery of specialist public health services. PHE is an operationally autonomous executive agency of the Department of Health. www.gov.uk/phe. Follow us on Twitter @PHE_uk

National statistics for use:

• The four most common diseases affecting people aged 60 to 79 years in England are heart disease, stroke, lung cancer and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and 60% of these can be attributed to people’s behaviour and are largely preventable by individual actions.[iv] For lung cancer, it is almost 90% due to behaviour, and smoking is the single largest contributor.⁶

[i] ^{A sum of £3.5bn (alcohol costs), £2bn (smoking costs) and £6.1bn (Overweight and obesity) which are the biggest lifestyle risks. This figure does not take into consideration the cost of diet and physical activity as this overlaps with obesity and diabetes costs}

[ii] ^{Lang, I. A., et al. (2012). "Healthy behaviours in middle age: Long-term consequences for functioning and mortality." Age and Ageing 41.}

[iii] ^{Survey conducted by TNS BMRB with 1614 adults aged 40-60 in England from 29 January – 1 February 2016, using the Lightspeed GMI online panel. Data was weighted to be representiative by age, gender, social grade and region. 893 respondents completed the HAY tool.}

[iv] ^{Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). GBD Compare - Public Health England. Seattle, WA: IHME, University of Washington, 2015. Available at:} http://vizhub.healthdata.org/gbd-compare ^{[Last Accessed: 11 February 2016]}

[v] ^{Scarborough P. et al (2011). The economic burden of ill health due to diet, physical inactivity, smoking, alcohol and obesity in the UK: an update to 2006–07 NHS costs. Journal of Public Health; 33 (4): 527-535 Updated to take account of inflation}

[vi] ^{Dent M. et al (2010). Briefing Note: Obesity and life expectancy. Oxford. National Obesity Observatory.}

[vii] ^{Reeves G. et al (2014). Million Women Study Collaborators. Hospital admissions in relation to body mass index in UK women: a prospective cohort study. BMC Med; Mar 15; 12:45.}

[viii] Health and Social Care Information Centre: Statistics on obesity, physical activity and diet, England 2015

[ix] ^{Health and Social Care Information Centre (2015) Adult obesity and overweight. Available at: www.hscic.gov.uk [Last Accessed: 11 February 2016]}

[x] Health Survey of England Data 2014^. Chapter 9, Adult obesity and overweight

[xi] http://www.ukhealthforum.org.uk/who-we-are/our-work/modelling/publications/?entryid43=38207

[xii] ^{Public Health England (2014). From evidence into action: opportunities to protect and improve the nation’s health. Available at: www.gov.uk [Last Accessed: 11 February 2016]}

[xiii] ^{Ossa D and Hutton J (2002) The economic burden of physical inactivity in England. London: MEDTAP International.}

[xiv] ^{Lee I.M, et al. (2012). Effect of physical inactivity on major non-communicable diseases worldwide: an analysis of burden of disease and life expectancy. The Lancet; 380: 219–29}

[xv] ^{Health and Social Care Information Centre (2015). Statistics on Alcohol 2015. Available at:} http://www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB17712/alc-eng-2015-rep.pdf ^{[Last Accessed: 11 February 2016]}

[xvi] ^{Public Health England (2015), Local Alcohol Profiles for England. Available at:} www.lape.org.uk  ^{[Last Accessed: 11 February 2016]}

[xvii] ^{NatCen Social Research and University College London. Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Health Survey for England, 2013 [computer file]. Colchester, Essex: UK Data Archive [distributor], January 2015. SN: 7649,} http://dx.doi.org/10.5255/UKDA-SN-7649-1

[xviii] ^{Statistics on Smoking: England, 2015} http://www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB17526/stat-smok-eng-2015-rep.pdf

[xix] ^{ASH: The Local Cost of Tobacco – ASH Ready Reckoner Dec 2015 update: http://ash.org.uk/localtoolkit/docs/Reckoner.xls}

[xx] ^{Public Health England Local Tobacco Control Profiles} http://www.tobaccoprofiles.info/profile/tobacco-control/data

[xxi] ^{Health and Social Care Information Centre (2015). Health Survey of England Data. Available at:} www.hscic.gov.uk/healthsurveyengland^.