By Darrell Gale, Director of Public Health, East Sussex County Council.

Almost everyone knows what a healthy lifestyle looks like. However, our busy lives and the environments in which we live, work, and play often make it hard for us to lead and sustain a healthy lifestyle, whether this be moving more, eating well, drinking less, or giving up smoking.

Obesity is a complex problem with many different but often interlinked causes. Along with smoking, obesity is among the leading risk factors for poor health. It is associated with a range of conditions, including cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal conditions, respiratory disease, diabetes, and many cancers. The NHS spends over £6 billion each year on treating overweight and diabetes related ill health.

Smoking remains the biggest cause of cancer and death, and uses a considerable amount of NHS resource. Data by Cancer Research UK has revealed that ending smoking could free up to 75,000 GP appointments each month in England.

To help local people achieve their goals to become healthier, East Sussex County Council and its Public Health department funds the One You East Sussex service. The service has recently been relaunched. Continue reading →

At this time of year, many of us are thinking about our New Year resolutions to eat well, manage our weight, move more, quit smoking and drink less.

There is a local service in East Sussex called One You East Sussex that helps people do just that, but we are thinking of making some changes to how the service supports residents. Before we make any changes it’s important we understand how people and communities would be affected.

We’ve included a short summary about the changes below. You can find out more and complete the consultation survey on the East Sussex County Council consultation website until 10 March.

To get back to a healthier you and make simple changes towards a longer and happier life visit the One You website.

Proposed changes

The changes would mean only those in greatest need will be routinely offered more intensive forms of help. This might include face-to-face support from a health coach, or a weight management group delivered online or in person.

Eligible residents will continue to be offered a holistic health assessment, and you’ll have access to online support programmes to help make changes to your health-related behaviours.

The proposed changes would mean the service can offer greater levels of support to those who need it the most. For example, this might include people living in areas where deprivation levels are high and life expectancy is lower than average, or people living with a disability or mental health issue.

Any savings from these changes would be used by the service to help it achieve the best possible health outcomes for residents and communities.

A final decision on the proposed change to the service model will be made in June 2023.