Health inequalities. Volume II, Written evidence / House of Commons, Health Committee.

  • Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Health Committee
Date:
c2008
Catalogue details

Licence: Open Government Licence

Credit: Health inequalities. Volume II, Written evidence / House of Commons, Health Committee. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    14/370 (page 6)
    51. The A new long-term ambition on obesity has been announced, including a child obesity indicator within the new cross-departmental child health PSA. A comprehensive cross-government strategy on obesity is being developed, building on the evidence in the Foresight Tackling Obesities: Future Choices report. The strategy is expected to be published early in the new year. Nutrition 52. Good nutrition is crucial to health at all ages but there is evidence of serious inequalities. We are seeking to tackle these inequalities by — Breastfeeding and infant health—Breastfeeding offers long term emotional, physical and mental benefits to mother and child. PSA 12 to improve the health and wellbeing of children and young people, includes an indicator on the prevalence of breastfeeding at 6-8 weeks: the indicator is included in both the NHS Outcomes Framework and the local government indicator set. — Healthy Start—reaches around half a million pregnant women and children under four in low income and disadvantaged families, offering vouchers to spend on milk, fresh fruit and vegetables, and infant formula. It also offers contact with and support from health professionals. — 5A DAY—the message and consumption of fruit and vegetables are increasing across all regions and all social groups but consumption is far higher in high income households. This work is supported by the School fruit and vegetable scheme and new nutritional standards for school lunches which were introduced in 2006 and for other school food from 2007. 53. Salt targets—high salt intake increases the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke. Voluntary reductions in levels of salt in food for 85 product categories were agreed with industry in 2003, to be reviewed in 2008. A mass media salt campaign has been delivered to raise and maintain awareness of salt health impacts and what consumers can do to reduce intake. Oral Health 54. Most oral diseases are preventable and despite big improvements over the last 30 years, there are still unacceptable inequalities across the country. The probability of having obvious decay experience in primary teeth is about 50% higher in poorer areas of the country compared with the better off areas (2003 National Child Dental Health Survey). 55. The Oral Health Plan for England (Choosing Better Oral Health, 2005) specifically focuses on reducing inequalities through a common risk factor approach. The key elements of the Plan are improving oral hygiene and: — Improving diet and reducing sugar intake — Optimising exposure to fluoride — Tobacco control and promoting sensible drinking — Reducing dento-facial injuries — Professional training and support THE IMPACT OF SPECIFIC PROGRAMMES [ISSUE: whether specific interventions designed to tackle health inequalities, such as Sure Start and Health Action Zones, have proved effective and cost-effective ] KEY MESSAGE—-specific programmes raise the health inequalities profile, promote innovative work and act as a catalyst for further local action. Health Action Zones 56. The health action zones (HAZ) programme ran between 1997 and 2004 to explore mechanisms for breaking through current organisational boundaries to tackle inequalities and deliver better services. They pushed health inequalities up the local agenda, including raising the profile of “hidden” issues and groups. 57. HAZs served as a catalyst for promoting subsequent area based initiatives and underlined the lesson that there is no single blueprint for addressing the complex causes of health inequalities at the local level and progress can be made by small steps and by learning from different attempts in specific contexts to promote change. The work of HAZs has now been incorporated into PCTs