Public health experts in Sandwell are urging men to do something about their ‘belly fat’ as part of this week’s national Men’s Health Week.

The campaign is highlighting the dangers of abdominal obesity, better known as ‘belly fat’.

It focuses on encouraging men to be aware of the size of their waist, to help them become fitter and healthier.

Jyoti Atri, Sandwell’s Director of Public Health, said: “We have high levels of obesity amongst our men and this increases their risk of developing disease and early death. Men who have a waist measurement of over 37 inches have increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, cancer and stroke.”

Sandwell Council Leader Councillor Steve Eling added: “We want to offer support to men to help them reduce their risk of these diseases, by watching their weight, taking more exercise and eating healthily.”

There’s plenty of support on offer. Sandwell’s Weigh2GO self-monitoring programme enables people to weigh themselves at various locations in Sandwell and to track their weight loss on their phone, with additional online support.

There’s also the Man vs Fat football scheme, where men take part in a weekly tournament and get advice about nutrition.

Paul said: “Every time I have come I have lost weight and met some new people as well. There is nothing malicious in the football and everybody gets on. It’s not just about winning on the pitch – you can still win by losing weight.”

Kevin added: “We get to play the game with like-minded people who need to lose a few pounds, and the exercise really helps. It’s a good laugh, it’s not overly-competitive, some players have never played the game before, so come along and enjoy it.”

Also, Weight Watchers is offering 12 weeks of free sessions for Sandwell residents. There are more than 20 sessions in the local area which people can attend.

Joining Weight Watchers also provides you with free access to online support for up to 16 weeks. Weight Watchers sessions are now available for wheelchair users at Portway Lifestyle Centre.

Dacia UK has partnered with Service by Emergency Rider Volunteers across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Northamptonshire (SERV OBN), providing a Duster 4x4 to aid its voluntary emergency riders in transporting blood and blood products to patients in need of urgent medical attention throughout the area. The Duster 4x4 Laureate dCi 110 was chosen by the service for its dependability and four-wheel drive capability and will be supporting the rapid response bikes as the region’s only four wheel vehicle.

The SERV OBN voluntary riders are usually used to riding motorbikes to ensure a quick delivery of medical products, however, the fully-equipped emergency vehicle is aimed at improving the service carried out by 124 volunteers from across the region. The Duster will be used to provide a quicker response to larger load requirements, as before the Duster was available, volunteers would have to use their own cars to transport products when two or more ‘Long Journey Boxes’ were to be transported on one journey. The Duster will also offer immediate access to a vehicle when the bike fleet is grounded during adverse weather conditions or when all bikes on duty are in use and there are further needs for SERV OBN’s services.

Paul Stothard, SERV OBN said: “The Dacia Duster 4x4 will make such a difference to the efforts of SERV OBN transferring potentially life-enhancing products to hospitals throughout the region. As a service, our voluntary riders undertook 1,500 journeys in 2016, however if we’d had the capabilities of a vehicle such as the Duster, that number could have been a lot higher. On some occasions, our riders have needed to use their own cars for journeys when they were unable to use their motorbikes. The Duster will remove the need for that and, given its livery, is much more appropriate for use. The Duster will provide a life-saving service for those in need of it.”

Louise O’Sullivan, Head of Dacia UK said: “The Dacia Duster 4x4 truly is a robust, go-anywhere vehicle, well suited to take on the demanding tasks the SERV OBN volunteers will put it through. Dacia UK is proud to support the humbling work the team do throughout the region and hope the arrival of the Duster contributes to SERV OBN saving many more lives.”

SERV OBN are a volunteer rapid response medical transport service delivering much more than just blood as any other urgently needed medical products are supplied out of hours, 365 days a year – all free of charge to the NHS. SERV OBN receives no government funding and relies on donations from the public and sponsorship to keep the service working. The volunteers receive no payment for their time or costs, saving the NHS thousands of pounds a year and allowing hospitals to divert funds to where they are needed the most. SERV OBN are founder members of the Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes.

With exactly one month to go to the start of the Summer of World Athletics, official inspiration programme Team Personal Best is in full swing and growing with more than 100 events signed up. Having already held a host of inspiring events, any athletics or running-themed activity can get involved between now and the end of September.

The World Para Athletics Championships (14-23 July) and IAAF World Championships London 2017 (4-13 August) will be the biggest sporting event in the world in 2017. It is the first time ever that both Championships are being held in the same city in the same summer and the inspiration programme and Team Personal Best have been created to inspire anyone and everyone to get involved in grassroots athletics.

Events that have taken place already include disability festivals at the Copper Box at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park to taster sessions at clubs around the country. There was even a running takeover from two-time British Olympian Mara Yamauchi as she joined local community groups in East London and shared advice and tips, whilst community fitness group GoodGym have signed up all their sessions to Team Personal Best from now until September.

Basque Country by Ibérica will showcase the best food and wines from northern Spain to celebrate World #TapasDay.

With the highest concentration of Michelin-starred restaurants in the world, Spain's Basque Country is a foodie's paradise. Some of the best produce in this region is 'pintxos': eaten standing up in a bar with a glass of Txakoli (white wine from the region) or Basque Rioja wine.

At this summer's Taste of London (14th – 18th June) visitors will be able to experience the culture of pintxos as if they were in the Basque Country with the pop-up pintxos bar “Basque Country by Ibérica”. The pinxtos bar will be hosted by group head chef of Ibérica, César García, and created by the Basque Country and Spanish Tourist Office (at stand A6).

Visitors will have the opportunity to enjoy a glass of Basque wine with a complementary delicious 'Pintxo' (the Tapas of northern Spain). There will also be food and wine tastings and cookery demonstrations by renowned chefs from the Miniature Pintxos Congress and Ibérica Restaurants.

Basque Country by Ibérica will offer a stunning range of dishes from Ibérica restaurants prepared by their head chef César García and based on their menus at their popular UK restaurants. Dishes have been designed to delight guests and to highlight the diversity of Basque Country's many twists on traditional pintxos:

• Spanish Omelette and Green Pepper from Gernika
• Cod Fritter with Vizcaína, an onion and red dried pepper purée sauce
• Sautéed Baby Broad Beans with Serrano Ham and Fried Quail Egg
• Guindilla de Ibarra Chilli Pepper and Crab Meat Mayo Salad
• Mushroom and Prawn in a Pil-Pil Sauce
• Gilda: Ibarra Peppers, anchovies and olives

Javie Piñanes, Director of the Spanish Tourist Office said: “The Spanish Tourist Office is looking forward to bringing some of the unique flavours the Basque County to Taste of London as well as offering a gastronomic journey through the Basque Country; one of Spain's greatest culinary regions.”

14 athletes have been selected for the inaugural World Para Athletics Junior Championships in Nottwil, Switzerland to be held between 3-6 August 2017.

The championship offers an opportunity for developing athletes who are on the pathway towards individual medal success at a future senior world championships or Paralympic Games.

In the wheelchair racing events, under 20 athlete Jack Agnew is one of the key athletes to watch out for. He will compete across a series of T54 events; the 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m and 1500m. The Northern Irish athlete has lowered his personal bests in all of these events except the 200m so far in 2017, so he will be one of the in-form athletes competing in the Swiss town.

He is joined by two further wheelchair racers; U20 Craig Boardman and U18 Eden Rainbow-Cooper . The former has been rapidly improving, and enjoyed a successful Swiss series recently. The latter has been studying exams lately, but did achieve victory at the Westminster mile event last month.

British Athletics Parallel Success Event Academy athlete Amar Aichoun and Amy Carr  wrap up the quartet of under 20 age-group athletes representing the British team, competing in the T38 100m & 200m, and T37 100m, 200m & long jump respectively.

Para Athletics Head Coach, Paula Dunn, commented on the team selection:

“The World Para Athletics Junior Championships provides a valuable opportunity for our talented young athletes to gain experience in the major games environment. I have no doubt that the 14 athletes selected will use this championship wisely and hopefully learn plenty from it.

“This is an important part in the development pathway for these athletes as we build towards the Tokyo Paralympic Games in 2020. For many, this will be their first appearance in a British vest, and it will be crucial as we progress over the next few years.”

The premiere League of Legends league in North America is getting a major face lift in 2018, including giving teams permanent spots, opening up revenue sharing, and forming a player’s association.

Riot Games’ North American League of Legends Championship Series (NA LCS) will begin to emulate traditional sports leagues like the NBA and MLB next year by expanding revenue sharing and increasing player pay, kicking of a player’s association so players have a say in how things run, and introducing team franchising — the first existing esports league to do so. This means team owners will have permanent partnerships with the NA LCS and will no longer have the fear of relegation looming over them if they’re having a bad season.

This changes will be implemented at the start of the 2018 season. In the meantime, Riot will be accepting applications from teams to be permanent fixtures in North American League of Legends. With these applications, Riot will be focusing on team branding (connecting with fans and merchandising), the owners’ business plans, team development and strategies, and the owners themselves.