Public Health England is conducting the first national survey to explore the health and wellbeing of people working in the sport, fitness and leisure industry.  This is a large industry with around 630,300 people working in the field accounting for 2% of the UK’s workforce.

Similar surveys have been conducted on people working in other sectors to determine the reasons for sickness absence. This is a significant issue in the UK with about 131 million work days lost through sickness absence.  These surveys found that sickness absence was due to ill health caused by feelings of discrimination, stress in the workplace and lifestyle choices.

This survey is being conducted to understand the general health and work status of people working in the sport, fitness and leisure industry.  They’d like to use the findings of the survey to inform employers on how they can better support the health and wellbeing of their staff.

If you’re interested in taking part in this survey, please click here for more information.

If you’re black African, black British or black Caribbean, we highly recommend that you take part so that any issues related to race and be properly identified and explored.

 

Back in March Public Health England launched their ‘One You’ campaign which aims to help adults across the country avoid health conditions caused by modern day life.

In this age of technology it can be very hard to maintain a healthy lifestyle with many of us spending most of our day sitting in front of a computer. This new campaign urges everyone to move more, eat well, drink less and be smoke free. It also provides advice on reducing stress level and sleeping better.

Professor Sir Muir Gray, clinical adviser for the One You campaign said:

“Although it has been customary to blame people for their ‘lifestyle’ we now appreciate that we need to take into account the environmental pressures that make it difficult to make healthy choices, having to sit 8 hours a day at work for example, and then drive an hour home. One You is designed to help every individual identify not only their risks but also the pressures they face in their life and the stress that results, and then support them with personalised tools and advice.”

The One You website is great resource for health information and on this website you can take the ‘How Are You’ quiz to assess how healthy your lifestyle is as well as download a range of free apps to get you fit and healthy.

Last month Public Health England launched their new Eatwell Guide which aims to give the public clear guidance on what a healthy diet looks like. This new Eatwell Guide replaces the Eatwell Plate and now encourages people to include more fruit, vegetables and starchy carbohydrates in their diet and less sugary foods and drinks.

The new Eatwell Guide is based on the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition’s 2015 report on carbohydrates and health. It encourages the public to eat 30g of fibre a day, less than 6 grams of salt a day and that women should consume less than 20 grams of saturated fat a day and men less that 30 grams. The new guide also recommends that people consumes less than 30 grams of sugar a day and adults should be aiming to drink 6-8 gasses of fluids ideally from water, lower fat milks and unsweetened drinks.

A major difference between this new guide and the previous Eatwell Plate is the removal of sugary drinks. Additionally foods that are high in fat, salt and sugar have been moved to the outside of the guide to stress that they do not form part of a healthy diet.

The Eatwell Guide is  a useful resource for anyone wanting clear recommendations on healthy eating. You can read more about it here

 

This week, Public Health England announced that it has launched a new improved prostate cancer pack to help GPs and other healthcare professionals discuss the PSA test with men.  This new pack is part of the Prostate Cancer Risk Management Programme and consists of an evidence document for GPs, summary information sheets for GPs and summary information sheets for men aged 50 and over.

The PSA test is a blood test that can be helpful as part of the process of diagnosing prostate cancer but it is not accurate enough to be used as a screening test. Men who are over 50 can book an appointment with their GP if they have concerns about prostate cancer and would like to discuss the PSA test and this new pack will ensure that these appointments are as useful and informative as possible.

Dr Anne Mackie from Public Health England said:

“The decision about whether a man takes a PSA test is a complex one and has to be thought through carefully. Our new information pack will make it easier for GPs to have this conversation with their patients, and assist men in making a decision that is right for them”

Prostate cancer is more common in black men with black men being twice as likely to develop prostate cancer as their white counterparts. We hope that these new packs will create a better understanding of prostate cancer and the use of the PSA test and thus facilitate the early diagnosis of this disease.

 

The Lake Foundation is happy to hear that Public Health England has published its new framework to build mental health skills in a range of professions working with children and adults in all areas of life including work settings.

With mental health conditions being a particular challenge for the black community we hope that this framework will go some way towards addressing some of the inequalities that exist in the mental health field where the black community are more likely to be diagnosed with a mental health condition and less likely to report being satisfied with the care that they receive.

Public Health England’s framework aims to promote good mental health, prevent mental illness and suicide and improve the quality of life of people living with mental illness.

We look forward to the framework’s implementation and hope that this will truly make a difference in our community.

For more information you can download a copy of the executive summary of the framework below or visit Public Health England’swebsite

Between the 2nd and 13th of March 2015, UK Active, Public Health England (PHE), the County Sports Partnership Network (CSP Network) and the Local Government Association (LGA) will deliver the second round of the Moving More Living More Physical Activity Fora.

Physical inactivity is the fourth largest cause of disease and disability in the UK and action is required by a collaboration of partners at a national and local level in order to address the problem and create a more active nation.

The Moving More, Living More regional physical activity fora were established to provide national insight into what can be done to tackle physical inactivity from a national level, as well as fostering conversations and producing partnerships at a local level to make an impact on local outcomes.

The second round of Moving More, Living More regional fora will present the most recent developments in the national movement for a more active England  and develop tangible actions that will make a difference at a local level.

The events will move the local agenda for physical activity forward and drive down into the details of how we can begin to tackle inactivity and create happier, healthier societies.

They will explore the evidence behind physical activity interventions from across the country – as well as giving a more localised focus to individual initiatives – and begin to assess the next steps for how local partners can work together collaboratively to combat physical inactivity.

Events news you:

Taunton: Monday 2nd March
Somerset County Cricket Club,
The County Ground,
Taunton,
Somerset,
TA1 1JT
South East Region: Wednesday 4th March
Etc venues (The Hatton),
51-53 Hatton Garden,
London,
EC1N 8HN
London: Friday 6th March
The Grange St Pauls,
10 Godliman Street,
London,
EC4V 5AJ
Blackpool: Wednesday 11th March
Winter Gardens
97 Church Street,
Blackpool,
Lancashire,
FY1 1HL
Birmingham: Friday 13th March
The Studio,
7 Cannon Street,
Birmingham,
B2 5EP
For more information and to book a place please visit  UK Active’s website. The Lake Foundation will be attending and we hope to see you there!