Publish date: 25 May 2023

Obesity project banner.jpgA new website has been launched to give details of a pioneering initiative designed to prevent cancer by reducing the levels of obesity and overweight across Cheshire and Merseyside.

The website features the latest findings and information about the Strategic Overweight and Obesity Project, a collaboration between Cheshire and Merseyside Cancer Alliance (CMCA) and Health Equalities Group – parent charity for healthy weight programme Food Active. The project is aiming to lower people’s excess weight, as it is one of the main modifiable risk factors for the disease.

As a sub-region, Cheshire and Merseyside has above average rates of overweight and obesity in child and adult populations, while we also have higher than average rates of cancer prevalence.

The project will establish a network of individuals and organisations to create awareness campaigns that improve people’s knowledge of the risks of excess weight and help them to change their lifestyle to improve their health.

During the first year of the project there has been a focus on scoping out the problem and gaining insights from across the sub-region.

Over the next year the project is planning to work on:

  • Capacity building for the voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise (VCFSE) sector
  • Using planning levers to address obesogenic environments
  • Policy work to limit/prohibit advertising of high in fat, salt or sugar (HFSS) products on public transport and council assets
  • Development and piloting training to reduce the stigma of weight in NHS settings
  • Building greater connectivity across the system through: sector specific briefings and events, a public facing communications campaign; a Cheshire and Merseyside-specific declaration on healthy weight to promote senior leadership 

A new website has now been launched to showcase all the work done on the project over the past year. You can see it here: www.cm-strategicobesity.org

Tracey Wright, Associate Director of CMCA, said: “We are really pleased to see the amount of work in this project publicised on this new website and are looking forward to this programme making a real, measurable impact on the level of overweight and obesity in Cheshire and Merseyside.

“Turning around the increasingly worrying problem of excess weight is not going to be easy. But this project is vital in making people aware of the link between overweight and obesity on the chances of developing cancer, so they can be supported in lowering their weight and cut their risk.”