Welsh publicans urged to help with health campaign

Publicans in Wales are being urged to get behind a campaign to improve the health of Welsh people.

The Food and Well Being Strategy has been launched by the Welsh Assembly to outline the action needed to be taken by the food industry to help improve the diet of people in Wales.

About one third of deaths from heart disease and a quarter of deaths from cancer in the UK can be attributed to bad diet. People in Wales suffer from consistently poorer health than those in England and have a life expectancy of two to three years less than the rest of Europe.

The new strategy has made nine recommendations to improve the health of Welsh people.

Developing and promoting initiatives within the food industry to improve healthy eating and specifically initiatives to help people have access to certain foods, is one of the recommendations.

This means publicans, restaurateurs and other people involved in the food industry will be given help and encouragement to improve healthy eating in Wales.

Promotions such as the Heart Beat award scheme, which is run by some councils in England and promotes pubs that offer healthy menu options and no smoking areas, are likely to be among those suggested by the scheme.

Introducing information and training for those involved in the Welsh food industry, such as chefs, as well as health professionals, to help them promote healthy eating, is also part of the strategy.

As well as developing these initiatives, the strategy recommends:

• Increasing food and vegetable intake
• Managing obesity
• Putting into place a national scheme to help improve healthy eating
• To keep the public well-informed about nutrition

"We know it will take a combined, concerted effort to make a difference to Welsh eating habits," said Joy Whinney, director for the Food Standards Agency Wales. "That is why I welcome the sense of ownership by all parties involved. I look forward to seeing the recommendations of the strategy taken forward by key organisations and professionals and adopted by people throughout Wales."

• For more information about the strategy and how you can get involved contact 029 2067 8915.