Evaluation of Health and Wellbeing Promotion Strategies in East Sussex

This report analyzes health and wellbeing promotion strategies in East Sussex, England, focusing on how these strategies are relevant and could improve health outcomes. It begins with an introduction discussing the concept of wellbeing and its various dimensions, including emotional, social, and physical aspects. The report then provides an overview of East Sussex, its demographics, and the working population's lifestyle. The core of the report evaluates the 'Health, work and wellbeing- Caring for our future' national health promotion strategy, highlighting its relevance to East Sussex. It explores how this strategy addresses physical health issues, such as obesity and the importance of healthy eating and regular physical activity. The report also emphasizes the significance of mental health and the need for strategies to address related problems. It provides recommendations for promoting physical fitness and healthy eating habits within the East Sussex community, with a focus on workplace wellness and the reduction of lifestyle diseases. The report concludes by stressing the importance of a comprehensive approach to health promotion that considers both individual behaviors and environmental factors.

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Ways of Promoting Health and Wellbeing in East Sussex
Term Paper:
Date of Submission
2500 words
Name
University

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Introduction
The idea that happiness should or can be measured is rather controversial. When it
was announced that the government Office for National Statistics (ONS) was planning to
measure national well-being, the announcement faced a lot of criticism from all directions.
However, the ONS released the 2014/2015 measures on personal well-being and, the report
suggested that more people feel positive about their lives 1. People's health, their families and
their relationship with other people, the nature and quality of work that people do, the
education and the environment; all contribute to a sense of satisfaction in the lives of people
not only in England but also across the globe. If what really mattered to people were to be
measured, then these factors need be measured as well because, they are what encompasses
an individual’s wellbeing2.
We can think of myriad definitions of wellbeing. But, generally, the meaning relates
to a person’s experience of his or her quality of life. Well-being is a subjective state of feeling
happy, healthy, comfortable, gratified and satisfied with the quality of one’s life. It is a
contented state of being happy and healthy and prosperous. An individual's well-being
includes among other things emotional, social, material, physical activity and developmental
aspects of life. On the other hand, health is a ‘healthy’ state of wellbeing free from disease;
wellness 3.
The interaction between social, physical, psychosocial and environmental factors
including age, gender and past experiences all drive the recognition of the kick-off and
1 Atkinson S, Wellbeing and place. Routledge, 2016, p. 9.
2Bradshaw J, The Well-being of Children in the UK. Policy Press, 2016, p. 4.
3 Patton et al., Our future: A Lancet commission on adolescent health and wellbeing. The Lancet,
2016, p. 32.

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maintenance of prevalent ill-health conditions 4. In addition, economic stability, working
environment and a person’s social aspect of life play a role in the same. Giving their
suggestion on what has profound influence on one’s wellbeing, they identify factors such as
income, social status and an individual’s quality of life; even though all these are usually
connected to other external elements including a person’s viewpoint about his or her
ambitions and past experiences that shape our future perception about our wellbeing.
Furthermore, social networks give a certain impression of being beneficial to our
wellbeing. This assumption is specifically consistent with the fact that the public has trust in
the network. It is essential to take this frame of reference into consideration when trying to
comprehend and manage the peril of common health problems. Concentrating on the present
work environment in East Sussex might mean that crucial psychosocial dangers are
disregarded. In the assessment and management of the common health risks, it is important to
factor in the balance between an individual’s work life and the nature of their work 5.
Common illnesses associated with this include musculoskeletal conditions and even stress
itself. This fully supports the argument of encouraging the people of East Sussex to
participate in regular exercise in addition to healthy eating. The people should take part in
health checks, especially those managing health conditions as this would make them remain
in control of their symptoms 6.
Thesis: Formulated health promotion strategies are already being implemented in
England and across the United Kingdom to address health and safety perils of her people.
Wellbeing proffers a chance for a distinct way to experiencing health and safety. This paper
4 Jackson et al., Obesity, perceived weight discrimination, and psychological well-being in older adults in
England. Obesity, vol. 23, no. 5, 2015, p. 91.
5 Atkinson S, Wellbeing and place. Routledge, 2016, p. 19.
6 Network C, A countryside for health and wellbeing: the physical and mental health benefits of green
exercise. Cancer. Publisher not identified. 2017, p. 41.

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seeks to evaluate how one aspect of the nation's health promotion strategy is relevant to and
could promote health and well-being in East Sussex.
Part 1
About East Sussex
The county of East Sussex is to the south-east region of England. To the north and
east, the county is bordered by Kent county while to the north, it is bordered by Surrey. To
the west, East Sussex is bordered by West Sussex while the English Channel borders it to the
south. The United Kingdom is East Sussex’s sovereign state. It was established in 1974
following the Local Government Act of 1972. It covers an area of approximately 1792 km2
with a density of 467/km2. ethnicity is largely white (97.7%) and S. Asians (1.0%). It has a
population of 547,800. The county is made up of 6 districts including Lewes, Rother,
Hastings, Wealden, City of Brighton and Hove and Eastbourne7.
Generally, the working population in East Sussex spends a fairly larger proportion of
their waking hours on their jobs and with many of them in sedentary positions. Even one’s
line of work still takes up a significant proportion of people’s time in East Sussex even
though most jobs in the county are often less physically demanding 8. This means that there is
zero or less physical activity involved in the process, often resulting in a double disadvantage
of prolonged working hours that require slight physical activity leaving the people with little
energy and free time to exercise. Therefore, it makes much sense to offer the people with a
chance to work out because a total of approximately a half an hour a day of fairly intense
7 Ingham A, Can your public library improve your health and well‐being? An investigation of East
Sussex Library and Information Service. Health Information & Libraries Journal, vol. 31, no. 2,
2014, p. 157.
8 Schulte et al., Considerations for incorporating “well-being” in public policy for workers and
workplaces. American journal of public health, vol. 105 no. 8, 2015, p.43.

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exercise is recommended on most days of the week as it is essential in reducing the risk of
disease conditions that are associated with inactivity. In East Sussex, at least everyone needs
45 minutes dedicated to physical activity each day to prevent obesity. This would
consequently result in promoting one’s general health and wellbeing.
Part 2
An evaluation of how one aspect of the nation’s health promotion strategy is relevant to
and could promote health and well-being in East Sussex
One aspect of the nation’s health promotion strategy programme, Health, work and
wellbeing- Caring for our future is relevant to and could promote health and well-being in
East Sussex because it is vividly directed towards the prevention of health problems and
clearly focussed on helping the people with health problems; and also, helping reduce the
cost of sickness in the society, absence and incapacity for work.
Relevance
A healthy community is a wonderful place to develop and age in. It is a place that
promotes healthy behavioural attributes, encouraging step-downs in health inequalities 9. A
healthy community should potentiate the physical and mental health of the local community,
befittingly promote active healthy ways of living that are made easy by the patterns of
development, better urban designs and excellent access to local facilities and services; green
open spaces available for all and areas that are safe for people to play and interact with others
actively and eat healthily and that is reachable by public transport, cycling and by walking 10.
9 El Ansari et al., Health promoting behaviours and lifestyle characteristics of students at seven
universities in the UK. Central European journal of public health, vol. 19, no. 4, 2011, p. 197.
10White et al., A systematic review of economic evaluations of local authority commissioned
preventative public health interventions in overweight and obesity, physical inactivity, alcohol and
illicit drugs use and smoking cessation in the United Kingdom. Journal of Public Health., 2018, p. 13.

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A healthy community means creating living environments that are healthy for individuals of
all ages; environments that support societal interactions. Moreover, a healthy community
meets the demands of the younger generation, especially children who need to grow and
thrive, as well being modifiable to the demands of an increasing aged population, those with
mental deterioration of organic or functional origin and other mobility or sensory
impairments 11.
The role of health and wellbeing
The achievement of individual wellbeing involves many positive and genuine
decisions concerning the lifestyle of people. This is rather different from avoiding stress, with
a negative intention of unable to come to terms with and falling sick before any action to
avoid this is taken. Initiatives of wellbeing, in their ideal fashion, are proactive and, they
work to facilitate people attain their maximum potential; physically, socially, mentally,
spiritually and intellectually 12.
The aforementioned nation’s health promotion strategy offers a comprehensive
approach path to managing the wholesome health and wellbeing of the people of East Sussex,
touching on the areas of healthy living, musculoskeletal health and mental health. This is
made possible by a team of healthcare workers and lively project managers from other fields.
They have the responsibility of developing and implementing programmes related to
healthcare.
How it could promote health and well-being in East Sussex
11 Turner E, Lira A, and Brum C, New Insights into the Benefits of Physical Activity and Exercise
for Aging and Chronic Disease. Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity. Publisher not identified,
2017, p. 77.
12 Brownell D and Walsh T, (Eds.), Eating disorders and obesity: A comprehensive handbook.
Guilford Publications, 2017, p. 52.

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The wellbeing strategy can act upon very many physical health issues, with its
associated projects including regulating health risks that are related to work and surveying
relevant health issues including legal requisites. This strategy will advance campaigns to
promote the people of East Sussex to take care of themselves. These health issues comprise
of respiratory conditions, smoking cessation, skin safety and noise. This strategy creates
awareness and regulates these risks including infection control utilising vaccination policies
and hand hygiene.
Eating healthily versus obesity
It is indicated in a recent study review that in the UK, over the past period of
approximately 25 years, obesity has increased threefold. Being overweight and obese is
linked to increased probability of suffering several chronic diseases such as cardiovascular
events, type 2 diabetes, joint disorders and different types of malignancies. According to a
report, obesity itself costs the nation approximately 30,000 demises and about 18 million sick
days annually 13. Obesity in England is on the rise in largely due to decreased physical
activity 14. The caloric intake in the UK has also significantly increased since the 1980s and,
her people are travelling less on foot and people watch television twice as much as it were in
the memorable past. The nation's health-promoting strategy being adopted in East Sussex
gives an assurance that the purpose of eating healthily is not just to maintain a healthy
weight, it addresses that taking a balanced diet helps in preventing disorders of the digestive
system such as constipation, iron deficiency, bone conditions like osteoporosis, cancers of the
13 Steele D and Cylus J, United Kingdom (Scotland): health system review. Health systems in
transition, vol. 14, no. 9, 2012, p. 23.
14 Tillin et al., Ethnicity‐specific obesity cut‐points in the development of Type 2 diabetes–a
prospective study including three ethnic groups in the United Kingdom. Diabetic Medicine, vol. 32,
no. 2, 2015, p. 226.

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gastrointestinal tract and other malignancies that are hormone related including breast cancer
15. Individuals with good eating habits and balanced diets often have less job absence, they
have better performance levels and good concentration energy 16. Adoption of this health-
promoting strategy programme could promote health and well-being in East Sussex as
obesity has a major effect on the safety and health of the people at their working stations. For
example, it affects people’s fitness for tasks that involve physical activity. It also affects the
ability of people to perform their jobs safely like manual handling and, ergonomic effects
could be felt even for the sedentary jobs as well. For instance, obese persons are not suitable
for the position of standard office 17.
Furthermore, activities that promote health and well-being in East Sussex should
centre physical fitness and maintenance of healthy dieting. The people should be constantly
encouraged to cut down on their weight slowly by slowly and maintain the weight loss rather
than partake on intense dieting. The people who want to cut weight should be encouraged to
seek medical advice on how to best do it 18. There are many ways by which the East Sussex
people can cut weight and eat healthily. For instance, they can be shopping for foodstuffs
from a range of the available healthy options in the market and, by joining healthy exercise
programmes that aim at weight loss. The people should also take into consideration how the
pressures of their work can have a negative effect on their usual dieting. Many people, for
instance, report that due to the pressures of their jobs, they hardly have time to prepare for
15 Zilanawala et al., Race/ethnic disparities in early childhood BMI, obesity and overweight in the
United Kingdom and United States. International journal of obesity, vol. 39, no. 3, 2015, p. 520.
16 Tillin et al., Ethnicity‐specific obesity cut‐points in the development of Type 2 diabetes–a
prospective study including three ethnic groups in the United Kingdom. Diabetic Medicine, vol. 32,
no. 2, 2015, p. 227.
17 Schulte et al., Considerations for incorporating “well-being” in public policy for workers and
workplaces. American journal of public health, vol. 105, no. 8, 2015, p. 34.
18 Shapiro S, Workout your burnout: an exploratory look at the role of perceived barriers and benefits
to physical activity in social workers. Publisher not identified, 2017, p. 51.

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themselves healthy meals, some skip either breakfast or lunch during their working hours
while some continue working at their desks over meal hours 19.
Physical activity: Body fitness is a necessity for one to keep their health in check, not
forgetting their general wellbeing 20. Working out makes one less prone to lifestyle diseases
including stroke, coronary heart diseases and diabetes mellitus. It brings down the risk by half
and the risk of early death by averagely 20- 30% 21. Physical activity aids to maintain normal
BMI as obesity itself is associated with increased chances of premature death, stroke,
diabetes (type 2), heart diseases(coronary), and increases the chances of developing of some
cancers in addition to musculoskeletal problems. People who combine a low-calorie diet and
working out, cut greater masses of fat while conserving lean tissue to a large extent. This is
essential for long-term sustained weight loss. It is an effective treatment for severe, moderate
and mild clinical depression, and may also aid mentally ill. Constant moderate exercise
assists individuals to feel better by uplifting their mood, their self-perception and lowering
anxiety 22. On the other hand, it can aid in minimizing stress and enabling one sleep better
and, general bone mineral density is increased in adolescents, conserved in young adult, and
lessened in decline at old age. Additionally, other types of exercises such as aerobics can also
assist forestall reoccurrence of pain in the lower back while the physical activity of low to
moderate magnitude can provide many health gains for older individuals. Thus, if the people
19 Schulte et al., Considerations for incorporating “well-being” in public policy for workers and
workplaces. American journal of public health, vol. 105, no. 8, 2015, p. 31.
20 Shapiro S, Workout your burnout: an exploratory look at the role of perceived barriers and benefits
to physical activity in social workers. Publisher not identified, 2017, p. 51.
21 Turner E, Lira A, and Brum C, New Insights into the Benefits of Physical Activity and Exercise
for Aging and Chronic Disease. Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity. Publisher not identified,
2017, p. 111.
22 Atkinson S, Fuller S, and Painter J, Wellbeing and place. Routledge, 2016, p. 89.

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of East Sussex inculcate physical activity into their daily lives, there are a lot more benefits to
achieve in relation to health and wellbeing.
Conclusions
An individual who takes part in a moderately intense physical activity regularly
should at all cost be in a position to continue with the exercise a lot longer without reaching
an exhaustion point 23. This person will often endure an increase in the heartbeat which comes
with physical activity, increased respiration and an increase in body temperature. The good
news for the people of East Sussex is that if they all create for themselves opportunities to
regularly have short bouts of fairly intense exercises, these opportunities will help the unfit
individuals and those people with busy lifestyles to keep their health and general welfare in
check. The physical activities to take advantage of include among other things commuting
using bicycles or by foot, working in fields that include regular physical activity, gardening
and carrying out household chores regularly and also if possible, participating in social sports
or recreation at moderate intensity.
23Shapiro S, Workout your burnout: an exploratory look at the role of perceived barriers and benefits
to physical activity in social workers. Publisher not identified, 2017, p. 67.

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References
Atkinson, S., Fuller, S and J. Painter, Wellbeing and place. Routledge, 2016.
Bonell, C. et al,. Why schools should promote students’ health and wellbeing. Bmj, 2014.
Bradshaw, J. (Ed.). The Well-being of Children in the UK. Policy Press, 2016.
Brownell, K. and B. Walsh, (Eds.). Eating disorders and obesity: A comprehensive
handbook. Guilford Publications, 2017.
Buckley, J. et al,. The sedentary office: a growing case for change towards better health and
productivity. Expert statement commissioned by Public Health England and the
Active Working Community Interest Company. Br J Sports Med, bjsports, 2015.
El Ansari, W, and C. Stock, Is the health and wellbeing of university students associated with
their academic performance? Cross sectional findings from the United
Kingdom. International journal of environmental research and public health, vol. 7,
no. 2, 2010.
El Ansari, W. et al,. Health promoting behaviours and lifestyle characteristics of students at
seven universities in the UK. Central European journal of public health, vol. 19, no.
4, 2011.
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Huckvale, K. et al,. Unaddressed privacy risks in accredited health and wellness apps: a
cross-sectional systematic assessment. BMC medicine, vol. 13, no. 1, 2015.

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Ingham, A. Can your public library improve your health and well‐being? An investigation of
East Sussex Library and Information Service. Health Information & Libraries
Journal, vol. 31, no. 2, 2014.
Jackson, S., Beeken, R. and J. Wardle, Obesity, perceived weight discrimination, and
psychological well‐being in older adults in England. Obesity, vol. 23, no. 5, 2015.
Kobau, R. et al,. Mental health promotion in public health: Perspectives and strategies from
positive psychology. American journal of public health, vol. 101, no. 8, 2011.
Network, C. A countryside for health and wellbeing: the physical and mental health benefits
of green exercise. Cancer. Publisher not identified, 2017.
Patton, G. et al,. Our future: a Lancet commission on adolescent health and wellbeing. The
Lancet, Publisher not identified, 2016.
Schulte, P. et al,. Considerations for incorporating “well-being” in public policy for workers
and workplaces. American journal of public health, vol. 105, no. 8, 2015.
Shapiro, S. Workout your burnout: an exploratory look at the role of perceived barriers and
benefits to physical activity in social workers, publisher not identified. 2017.
Steele, D, and J. Cylus, United Kingdom (Scotland): health system review. Health systems in
transition, vol. 14, no. 9, 2012.
Tillin, T. et al,. (2015). Ethnicity‐specific obesity cut‐points in the development of Type 2
diabetes–a prospective study including three ethnic groups in the United
Kingdom. Diabetic Medicine, vol. 32, no. 2, 2015.
Turner, J., Lira, V. and P. Brum, New Insights into the Benefits of Physical Activity and
Exercise for Aging and Chronic Disease. Oxidative medicine and cellular
longevity. Publisher not identified, 2017.