Health & Wellbeing

As the Met Office issues a level-2 cold weather alert, older people’s charity, Independent Age, has issued a warning to older people, their families and carers to take extra care during this week’s cold snap. It’s also providing a free advice leaflet on how to stay well in winter, called Being Winter Wise. Last year, the ONS found that an estimated 36,300 excess winter deaths occurred in England and Wales in 2014/15 among people aged 75 and over.

Around 36% of year six children in the West Midlands are obese or overweight, according to latest statistics. Carrying excess weight into adulthood increases the risk of developing heart disease in later life. The worrying figures mean there are around 23,500 children in the West Midlands leaving primary school obese or overweight. The British Heart Foundation (BHF) is today calling for a ban on all junk food TV advertising before 9pm, as part of the Government’s Childhood Obesity Strategy, to help improve children’s health.

As ‘Blue Monday’ looms, a national charity is encouraging people to get walking to keep the blues at bay. ‘Blue Monday’, so called because it’s thought to be the most depressing day of the year taking into account weather, debt levels and time since Christmas, occurs on the third Monday of January, this year falling on Monday 18 January. Living Streets, the UK charity for everyday walking is encouraging people to get walking to beat the blues.

Wolverhampton's WV Active leisure centres are celebrating their first anniversary with a day of free exercise classes for adults and special Kids Clubs for children. Super Saturday 3 takes place this Saturday (16 January 2016) with people invited to try free classes run by world-leading fitness phenomenon Les Mills. WV Active-Aldersley is offering BodyAttack sessions at 9am and 11am and RPM at 10am, WV Active Bilston Bert-Williams has BodyPump at 8.30am and 10.30am and RPM at 9.30am, while WV Active Central has BodyPump at 11am.

Another Blue Monday, another tidal wave of winter sun holidays offered as an answer to the January blues, with seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a depressive illness thought to be triggered by a lack of sunlight, affecting around two million people in the UK. Yet, for those tackling depression and anxiety (when every Monday is a Blue Monday) a dose of winter sun offers no long term solution, with the same struggles waiting upon return home.

Health chiefs in Wolverhampton have welcomed the publication of new government guidelines on safe levels of alcohol consumption. The guidelines from the UK's Chief Medical Officers recommend that men and women who drink regularly should consume no more than 14 units a week – the equivalent of six pints of beer or seven standard glasses of wine. Pregnant women should not drink at all.

Natalie Bennett, Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, spoke at a rally and march against student bursary cuts last weekend. In advance of the actions, Bennett, who will march alongside nurses, midwives and allied healthcare professionals, said: “The government’s plans to scrap the National Health Service bursary and replace it with loans is yet another assault on our ailing health service. Nurses and midwifes form the backbone of the NHS and funding for them to train to care must be protected."

With almost two million DVDs sold in a decade¹,the UK’s Queen of Fitness Davina McCall was beamed onto the iconic National Sea Life Centre last night in Birmingham City Centre as part of a national campaign to fire up the nation to get fit in five weeks in 2016.

People in Wolverhampton are being urged to make one small lifestyle change to improve their health and wellbeing this January. JanUary 2016, the new name for National Obesity Awareness Week, takes place from Monday 11 January to Sunday 17 January and seeks to highlight simple steps people can take to live a healthier lifestyle.

New research by Alzheimer’s Society shows that 38% of people in the West Midlands mistakenly think that once a person with dementia stops recognising loved ones, they don’t benefit that much from spending time with them. In a separate survey of 300 people affected by dementia, the charity also found that 64% of those living with the condition felt isolated from friends and family following a diagnosis.

Young adults are being urged to make regular eye checks one of their New Year’s resolutions by leading sight loss charity RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People). The reminder comes as research commissioned by the charity reveals that almost half (47 per cent) of all adults aged 34 or younger have not had an eye test in the last two years. That’s despite almost three quarters (74 per cent) knowing they should have a check-up at least every two years.

She's struggled in the past with yo-yo dieting. And after a lifetime of diet woes, Oprah Winfrey has given a candid insight into her weight loss struggles, delivering a powerful speech in a new advert for Weight Watchers. The 61-year-old speaks frankly in the emotional video, which shows the star at various sizes, as she hopes to inspire people to start their own weight loss journey.

Public Health England (PHE) is highlighting the debilitating nature of serious lung diseases for which smoking is the biggest preventable risk factor, after the latest GP figures reveal that the number of people diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in the West Midlands region reached 108,367 in 2014-15. Nationally over 1 million people are living with COPD. COPD is the umbrella term for serious lung conditions that include chronic bronchitis and emphysema. 

New research by Alzheimer’s Society shows that many people in the West Midlands are confused over what could be a sign of dementia and what is more likely to be general absent-mindedness. The findings come as Alzheimer’s Society reveals that calls to its Helpline increase by a staggering 60 per cent (Dec 2014 – Jan 2015) from people seeking advice and support after the festive season, many of whom are worried about what could be signs of dementia.

Research by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) has revealed the gifts that people of the West Midlands were hoping not to find under their tree this year - with the selfie stick topping the chart as the least desirable Christmas gift of 2015. This comes as the BHF launches their annual unwanted Christmas gifts campaign, encouraging people to donate their unwanted Christmas gifts to their local BHF shop to fund life saving research.

Students in Wolverhampton are being urged to get vaccinated amid concerns that cases of meningitis could spike during the winter months. They should speak to their GP now about getting the MenACWY vaccine to help protect them from meningococcal disease – which can lead to meningitis and septicaemia, or blood poisoning. Teenagers aged 18 and 19 can receive the vaccine for free, regardless of whether they’re studying or pursuing other activities.