Public Health England launches ‘One You’, a ground-breaking new campaign to help adults in the North West avoid future diseases caused by modern life
Living healthily in midlife can double your chances of being healthy at 70 and beyond
• In the North West, 66% of adults are classified as overweight or obese; there were 3,600 alcohol-related deaths in 2013; and smoking was attributable to an estimated 75,000 hospital admissions of people aged 35 and over in 2013-14
• 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
Today marks the launch of ‘One You’, a ground-breaking new campaign to help adults in the North West 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, particularly those in middle age, to take control of their health to enjoy significant benefits now, and in later life.
In the North West:
• 66% of adults are classified as overweight or obese. In 2013-14, obesity was a contributing factor for almost 56,000 hospital admissions.
• 30% of adults are classified as inactive, doing less than 30 minutes of at least moderate-intensity physical activity per week in bouts of 10 minutes or more.
• There were 3,600 alcohol-related deaths in 2013, and nearly 38,000 alcohol-related hospital admissions in 2013-14 (excluding A&E).
• 20% of persons aged 18 years and over smoke, and smoking was attributable to an estimated 75,000 hospital admissions of people aged 35 and over.
• Between 2012-14, the rate of deaths attributable to smoking was an estimated 329 per 100,000 population.
Latest figures show that life expectancy at older ages is at record levels, yet many are spending their retirement living in ill health. Currently 15 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.
The new campaign from Public Health England will help adults in the North West 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.
Dr Rebecca Wagstaff, Deputy Director, Health and Wellbeing, Public Health England North West said:
“Modern day life makes it hard for people to live healthily, with bigger portions for everything we eat, a desk-bound job or a long commute. One You 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.
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. For lung cancer, it is almost 90% due to behaviour, and smoking is the single largest contributor.Error! Bookmark not defined.
Diet/obesity · The direct cost to the NHS of obesity and people being overweight is estimated at £6.1bn (2014/15)
· Moderate obesity (BMI 30-35 kg/m2) reduces life expectancy by an average of three years, while morbid obesity (BMI 40–50kg/ kg/m2) reduces life expectancy by 8–10 years. This 8–10 year loss of life is equivalent to the effects of lifelong smoking
· In England, among women aged 50 – 84, around one in eight hospital admissions are likely to be attributable to being overweight or obese
· In 2013/14 there were around 365,500 hospital admissions for which obesity was a contributing factor
· In 2014, 75% of 45 – 54 year old men and 80% of 55 – 64 year old men, were overweight or obese
· In 2014, 63% of 45 – 54 year old women and 69% of 55 – 64 year old women were overweight or obese
· Currently, around one in four (25%)10 adults are obese and it is estimated that by 2034 this will increase to one in three
· If England reduced obesity incidence to 1993 levels, it is estimated that we could avoid 5 million cases of chronic disease (largely type 2 diabetes and hypertension)
Inactivity · In 2006/2007, physical inactivity cost the NHS an estimated £900 million8
· If broader societal costs are considered, a lack of physical activity costs the UK an estimated £7.4bn per year
· In the UK, it is estimated that physical inactivity causes 17% of premature death
· In the UK, there is an estimated gain in life expectancy of over a year if physical inactivity was eliminated
· In the UK, it is estimated that physical inactivity causes:13
o 10.5% of coronary heart disease cases
o 18.7% of colon cancer cases
o 17.9% of breast cancer cases
o 13.0% of type 2 diabetes cases
Drinking alcohol · Alcohol misuse costs the NHS £3.5bn per year
· In 2013 there were around 22,500 alcohol-related deaths in England (22,481 exact figure)
· In 2013/14 over 333,000 hospital admissions in England were alcohol-related18 (333,014 exact figure)
· 25% of drinkers consume 70% of the total alcohol consumed
· 5% of people who drink at the most harmful levels consume 30% of the total alcohol consumed
Smoking · Smoking is the biggest cause of preventable illness and premature death in England, accounting for almost 80,000 deaths a year, and is estimated to cost the NHS £2 billion annually
· Nearly 8 million adults in England smoke,159 however adult smoking prevalence in England has reached a record low at 18%
· The latest data for England, 2014-15, estimates that around 500,000 hospital admissions were attributable to smoking
· Lung cancer is almost 90% as a result of lifestyle choices, with smoking as the single largest contributing factorError! Bookmark not defined.
· Four out of five over 40s are now smokefree
