A Guide to Healthy Living – Advice from Public Health England
Public Health England have recently launched the Better Health campaign, to encourage and help the general public of the UK to take control of their health and well being and live and happier, healthier lifestyle. In the last 6 months, many have fallen victim to coronavirus and there has been a correlation between people with existing or underlying health conditions being more seriously affected or even sadly passing away. Worried by the possible impending event of falling ill, we have all seen the shift towards more people wanting to lead healthier lives and prevent illness or at least improve their chances of survival should the worst happen. If Covid-19 has taught us anything, it is that prevention of illness is a pro-active and positive way to approach our wellbeing and attempt to build a stronger immunity to help fight off illness before it has a chance to cause us issues.
At Wessex Care, we care for a wide range of people living with a wide range of health conditions. We understand that not all illness can be prevented but we also understand the importance of wellbeing, quality of life and the benefits of good health, so when we heard about the new Better Health campaign from PHE and the NHS, we wanted to share some of the resources with you.
We wanted to highlight some of the positive things that have happened at Wessex Care recently to help put a smile on your face and show that even in the most difficult of times, there are always things to be grateful for. We are immensely proud of all of our staff and colleagues for the great work and acts of kindness that they have shown, as always but even more so when faced with a crisis.
Health Resources from the NHS for Better Health
Nearly two thirds (63%) of adults in England are overweight or living with obesity. That is 6/10 adults that are overweight and 36% of our population are classed as obese. People living with obesity are twice as likely to be hospitalized with Covid-19.
Managing our weight is one of the most crucial parts of our health – our physical health. Our physical health is just one part of our overall health, but is the foundation for the other areas of our health that make us happy. The other areas are emotional health, social health and mental health which can all be impacted when our physical health deteriorates.
The Better Health campaign provides resources to help us eat healthier and move more, to get our physical health back on track, perhaps to shed some of those dreaded pounds gained during lock down in 2020. Often weight gain is something that is built up over a number of years and it is not as easy or simple as going on a fad diet. To get long lasting change and maintain a healthy weight, it is essential to implement new lifestyle changes.
Download the Better Health apps to make a start to your better health journey, where you can access a range of resources such as:
You can also download the Easy Meals app, the Smoke Free app and use the resource available on the NHS website to help you calculate and plan what you need to do to live a healthier lifestyle.
- Use the NHS BMI Calculator
- Visit nhs.uk/BetterHealth for tips and advice about how to lose weight
- Download the Change4Life Food Scanner app to see how much sugar, saturated fat and salt is in your everyday food and drink.
One last resource which you may find useful is the Government’s new Coronavirus Information Service on Whatsapp. This service will help you check the accuracy of any information you have found online to help you make better choices for caring for your health. And it is absolutely free to use.
Healthy Living at Wessex Care
At Wessex Care, we create personalized care plans for each of our residents and community clients to ensure that they get the care that they specifically need. We put on a wide range of interactive activities in our homes and care centres to help them live the fullest and best life possible and we are always getting compliments for our tasty and well-balanced menus. We work with a variety of outside practitioners to help all those at Wessex Care to have independence and maintain good health or recover their good health. Not all of our residents stay permanently, and we also offer respite care for those who just need a ‘top-up’ to reassess and reboot their care to help them return to independent living at home.
Contact us to find out more about what we do and to request a brochure or give us a call to speak to a member of our friendly team on 01722 336933 if you have any questions about the services offered at Wessex Care.
