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number of areas for improvement to help people adopt healthy lifestyles and prevent ill health:
• Highpopulationawarenessofthehealthharmsofsmokingandalcoholconsumption above recommended guidelines, the benefits of physical activity and healthy eating and of sources of help for lifestyle change
• Increasednumbersofpeoplewhostopsmoking
• Increasednumbersofpeoplewhoachieveahealthyweightor,bylosingaclinically
significant amount of weight (5-10% body weight), move in that direction
• Increasednumbersofpeopleundertakingsufficientphysicalactivitytobenefittheir
health
• Reductioninalcoholconsumptionaboverecommendedguidelines;and
• Effectiveidentificationandtreatmentofriskfactorsassociatedwithhealthinequality
and heart disease
To achieve this, resources are being targeted at the following priorities:
Reducing smoking prevalence and inequality can be achieved through
• Developing a clear understanding of the social and economic pressures in communities, e.g. deprived communities and age groups where smoking rates are
highest
• Supportingintensivetargetedinterventionstospecificallyaddresssmokingcessation
uptake with target groups
• Advocatingincreasedactionatthepopulationlevelincludingplainpackagingand
reducing second-hand smoke exposure in children; and
• Ensuring that every contact with health services is used to both prevent smoking
uptake and encourage cessation
Reducing the proportion of the population who are overweight and obese through
• Abetterunderstandingofwhyindividualsarelikelytobecomeoverweightorobese
in early adulthood and how this can be prevented
• Ensuring effective interventions and pathways for prevention, treatment and
management of childhood obesity are routinely available and systematically
implemented
• Supportingintensivetargetedinterventionstospecificallyaddressweightanddiet
issues within the deprived communities; and
• Advocating increased action at the population level to ensure healthy food is
available to all
Increasing physical activity levels especially in older population groups through
• Betterunderstandingofwhyindividualsstopexercisingastheygetolderandhow
this can be prevented
• Supporting interventions within targeted age groups to increase participation in
physical activity
West Wales Population Assessment March 2017 Health and physical disabilities