A NEW ‘one-stop shop’ service has been launched to help people in East Sussex tackle risky behaviours and improve their health.

One You East Sussex will help residents address issues such as smoking, excess drinking, unhealthy eating and inactivity which increase their risk of developing long-term illness.

For the first time, the service will allow people to tackle as many of these unhealthy behaviours factors as they need through one service.

People signing up to the service will receive an individual assessment and a personalised health plan with support that will best suit them, such as individual support from a health coach, group support or  telephone and on line support.

Cynthia Lyons, East Sussex acting director of public health, said: “Lifestyle choices play a hugely important role in people’s health.

“Unhealthy behaviours such as smoking and lack of exercise make it harder to have a healthy lifestyle and put people at risk of diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease.

“The real benefit of One You is that it looks at all the most common lifestyle challenges  and offers individually-tailored support to help people overcome them and live healthier lives.”

In East Sussex, 63 per cent of adults are carrying excess weight while only 58 per cent get enough exercise and just 42 per cent reach their recommended ‘five-a-day’ dose of fruit and vegetables.

The county also has the fifth highest proportion of child smokers in the country, while 17 per cent of adults regularly light up.

The new service will also offer NHS health checks for eligible adults, training for frontline staff and volunteers and support to organisations providing lifestyle change services.

The service is open to anyone in East Sussex aged 16 and over or young people aged 12 and over for stop smoking services.

People can sign up for the service online at www.oneyoueastsussex.org.uk or by calling 01323 404600 or emailing hello@oneyoueastsussex.org.uk

The new service has been developed as part of the whole systems transformation programme East Sussex Better Together and as part of Connecting4You in the west of the county