Feeding Liverpool receives ‘Healthy Weight’ funding to expand work

Feeding Liverpool is delighted to have received funding from The Alder Hey Healthy Weight Programme.

1 in 3 children leave primary school overweight or obese, with obesity-related illnesses costing the NHS billions of pounds each year. Obesity is a major risk factor for an individual’s health and is a leading cause of preventable illness including heart disease, diabetes and premature death. Living with obesity can also affect quality of life and impact mental health. Evidence suggests that weight management services can help children and young people and their families to adopt healthier behaviours, lose weight and improve their general wellbeing.

Developed by Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust in partnership with Public Health Liverpool, the ‘Healthy Weight’ programme will help support families in Liverpool who are at risk of experiencing excess weight during pregnancy, infancy and childhood.

This funding will enable Feeding Liverpool and our partners to grow and develop five projects across the city focused on improving access to healthy food for families and children. This will include working with our partners Feedback to expand the Queen of Green’s mobile greengrocer service, prioritising new stops in the region’s ‘food deserts’ – places with poor access to affordable fresh fruit and vegetables – and extending opening hours to provide greater access for working households. We will also work with community food spaces to extend wrap around support for low-income households and create new communications resources supporting residents to access these services. The programme funding also enables Feeding Liverpool to continue to deliver Community Healthy Start Champions training and supports the continuation of the Alexandra Rose Voucher Scheme in children’s centers in Liverpool which supports families to increase the amount of fresh fruit and vegetables in their diets.

Other organisations who have benefited from this fund include:

  • Tuebrook Active
  • Autism Adventures
  • Beautiful New Beginnings
  • The New Belve Youth and Community Sports Centre
  • Family Active – Diverse Active C.I.C
  • Happy Health Active Lives

Dr Senthil Senniappan, Clinical Director for Endocrinology and lead for weight management service at Alder Hey said: “This is an exciting project bringing together a fruitful partnership between Liverpool City Council and Alder Hey to promote the health and wellbeing of children and young people in the region. With rapidly rising levels of weight related complications, this is a very welcome move to promote healthy living and to prevent future weight related complications. Our clinical team is excited to be part of this new collaboration.”

 

Professor Matthew Ashton, Director of Public Health at Liverpool City Council said: “The Health Survey for England 2021 estimates that 25.9% of adults in England are obese and a further 37.9% are overweight but not obese.  These rates will be much higher amongst children living in poverty. Together with Alder Hey, we are dedicated to helping families in Liverpool tackle obesity and help reduce health inequalities. I’m delighted with how the Programme will help our communities live healthier and more active lives.”