HEALTH services, sports bodies and other organisations in Gwent are set for a share of a £5.5 million investment by the Welsh Government to halt the rise in obesity in Wales.

The money is being provided to support the first delivery plan - covering 2020-22 - for the Healthy Weight: Healthy Wales strategy, which aims to address the issue of obesity and its causes.

The majority of the money - £4.1m - will go to health boards and their partner, such as councils and charitable and voluntary groups, to provide support services for adults, young people and families to maintain a healthy weight.

A children and families programme to support health weight projects will receive £600,000, with a further £500,000 to be invested in a sport and leisure offer for over-60s.

And £300,000 will be invested in funding grants for sports bodies and evaluation.

The delivery plan also sets out a range of other cross-government projects under eight priority areas:

  • Helping Welsh food business develop healthy products;
  • Improving access to healthy food and drink at hospitals and other NHS sites;
  • Increasing the number of drinking water stations;
  • Investing in cycling and walking routes;.
  • Increasing access to outdoor recreation;
  • Tackling barriers to reducing diet and health inequalities;
  • Developing healthy weight programmes for pre-school children;
  • Including nutrition and healthy eating in the new curriculum.

In Wales, more than 60 per cent (1.5 million) of adults are overweight or obese. The figure increases by 10,000 every year, and if the trend continues, the rate will be 64 per cent by 2030.

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“Maintaining a healthy weight is one of the best ways to reduce the risk of diabetes, heart disease and cancers," said Chief Medical Officer Dr Frank Atherton.

“We recognise changing lifestyle habits can be challenging, but this plan sets out how every part of government is working to help individuals make those changes.”

Health minister Vaughan Gething said obesity "ranks among the biggest public health challenge we face, and I want Wales to be one of the first countries in the world to see a decline in obesity rates".

“To achieve this we need to see change in every part of our society and I want us to shape an environment where the healthy choice is the easy choice," he said.

"We will work with people across Wales to enable positive change, starting with support in the crucial early years of life.

“This first delivery plan for our strategy, sets out what we are doing to support people of all ages across every part of Wales to make healthier lifestyle choices.

"Small changes in our everyday habits can bring significant, lasting health benefits for us all.”