WILTSHIRE Council has agreed on a local strategy to inform, enable, motivate and empower individuals to achieve and maintain a healthy weight.

Although Obesity is a global and a local problem, and one-in-three children aged 10-11 and 61.6 per cent of adults in Wiltshire are either overweight or obese.

Wiltshire Council worked together with NHS Wiltshire’s Clinical Commissioning Group to agree the strategy on Tuesday.

Cllr Jerry Wickham, Wiltshire Council cabinet member for public health, said: “Obesity is an issue we are taking very seriously in Wiltshire and we’re determined to do all we can to improve people’s health and encourage behavioural change – for the benefit of our future generations.

“It’s not something we can do alone though, and we will continue to work positively with colleagues and partners and ensure our strategy is as effective as it can be.”

In an attempt to change the obesity figures, Wiltshire held its second Obesity Summit, where a number of health professionals and organisations worked together to draft strategy and focus on how it could be successfully delivered.

Within the strategy, a focus on prevention, giving children the best start in life, effective self-care, early intervention and treatment, as well as changing the environment we live in were highlighted as priority areas.

So far results for the 2015 school year suggest a reduction in the levels of childhood obesity in Wiltshire, while levels of excess weight of reception children has reduced to 20.3 per cent in 2015 from 22.1 per cent the year before.

Dr Lindsay Kinlin, GP at Avenue Surgery in Warminster, said: “An unhealthy lifestyle has a huge impact on your health and can lead to life-threatening illness such as Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

“We all have busy lives, but taking the time to make small changes in your diet, or just doing some form of exercise, no matter what, will make a huge difference in helping you to maintain a healthy lifestyle and live well for longer.

“Making sure we stay healthy and live well is our own responsibility – start making those changes today and give yourself a chance of enjoying a longer, healthier life.”

By reducing the numbers of overweight and obese people in the county by one per cent, NHS Wiltshire is predicted to make savings of £1.18 million pounds a year.