Obesity becomes central focus of public health activity

Obesity is increasing throughout population and will impact on public health departments.  There are signs that some teams have decided to focus resources on this area in an attempt to address other public health outcomes. It is likely to become more of a strategic issue, in the same way smoking cessation was in early 2000s, and increased efforts will be necessary to reduce costs to NHS.

It will require working with other teams and providers, encompassing thinking around planning, closer working with the food industry and supporting the development of legislation. Influencing skills will be critical, which must be reflected by training, ideally through supervision with a consultant— as these are hard skills to teach in a classroom situation.

In reality, as local authorities will be main public health employers, it will require specialists to be competent practitioners who can work alongside other local authority and social care staff to ensure a positive impact.

Some of the information in this section is provided by stakeholders and expert groups, and does not necessarily represent the views of the CfWI.