Make the healthy choice your first choice 

Enfield Council is seeking residents views on a strategy it hopes will help improve the health and wellbeing of everyone in Enfield.

A consultation on the new Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy runs on the Enfield Council website until February 10. The strategy  aims to make it easier for people to be physically active, eat healthily, be smoke free and to live longer in good health.

Cllr Alev Cazimoglu, the Chair of the Health and Wellbeing Board, which helped develop the strategy, said: “Our vision is to increase the health of everyone living in Enfield by making the healthy option the first choice for all of our residents. The new strategy is intentionally taking a very preventative approach.”

Enfield Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Health, Cllr Yasemin Brett, said: “We know that the easier we make it for people, especially in the early years,  to develop healthier lifestyles, such as eating healthily, being physically active and not smoking, the more likely it is that people will live longer in good physical and mental health .

“We are working with our partners to help improve the health and wellbeing of our communities, which is important because it reduces the likelihood of people developing illnesses and conditions which are largely preventable. 

"This helps prevent the impact conditions such as heart disease, stroke and cancer have on individuals and their families, as well as avoiding unnecessary hospital admissions and reducing the burden on social services.”

The consultation can be viewed at http://www.enfield.gov.uk/JHWS. A meeting has also been arranged for 14 February at Green Towers Community Centre between 9.45am and 2.30pm to discuss the strategy, places can be booked by emailing [email protected] or ringing 020 8373 6283. 

Once the consultation has finished, the views will be considered and the strategy reviewed to ensure it meets the needs of all of the borough’s communities .

Enfield Council already runs a wide range of projects designed to improve the health of residents ranging from the multi-million pound Cycle Enfield scheme, and the Council’s school meal service. 

There is also a wide selection of activities in parks, sports pitches and Green Gyms in parks as well as an extensive range of classes and facilities in its leisure centres.  

The local authority has also opened a Wellbeing Hub in Enfield and employs Health Trainers to guide people to change their habits and behaviour to life more healthily.

Residents can also visit https://new.enfield.gov.uk/healthandwellbeing/ for advice and guidance on how to adopt a healthier lifestyle.