A long-term campaign to encourage people in Dundee to keep to a healthy weight has been given the go-ahead.
Councillors heard it will be ”a significant investment in people’s futures” but it could take 10 years to bring about the hoped-for changes in behaviour.
The roll-out of the healthy weight community programme follows a pilot project in the Lochee, Strathmartine and North East wards.
Stewart Murdoch, director of the city council’s leisure and communities department, said: ”The key thrust of the programme is the prioritisation of preventative approaches specifically targeted towards young children and their families.”
NHS Tayside’s healthy equality strategy states that poor health outcomes are strongly associated with social and economic disadvantages.
Obesity was linked to a range of illnesses and played a part in reducing life expectancy.
Being overweight during childhood was acknowledged as a health concern in itself.
The strategy called for efforts to work with communities rather than issue instructions.
Mr Murdoch said: ”Dundee will become a community that takes care of their weight. The proposal is to have supportive health weight interventions delivered to targeted groups in communities while a healthy weight message is promoted city-wide.
“The overarching aim will be to ensure that families within Dundee recognise the importance of achieving and maintaining a healthy weight.”
The Scottish Government made £225,000 available for the pilot work in the three wards and part of this grant will be used to employ a programme coordinator for the next two years.
The council will work with NHS Tayside, the Dundee Healthy Living Initiative and other partners to put the action plan into effect.
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