A HEALTHY summer is being promoted by Warwickshire County Council (WCC).
During June – the month of Diabetes Awareness Week, Men’s Health Week and Cervical Screening Awareness Week – the council is encouraging people to take steps to improve their overall health.
A WCC spokesperson said: “Living a healthy and balanced lifestyle can impact your quality of life in many ways – from lifting your overall mood to adding to your life expectancy. And there are many small ways that you can make an impact to your life on a daily basis.
“Eating a balanced diet is a key foundation for living healthily. Most of us do not eat enough fruit and vegetables, which are brilliant sources of vitamins, minerals and fibre. You should aim to eat at least five portions of fruit and veg every day.”
They added it was important to stay hydrated throughout the day as the temperature gets warmer, particularly when spending time in the sun.
“The best drink for staying hydrated is water, but lower-fat milk and sugar-free drinks, including tea and coffee, also count towards the recommended six to eight glasses of fluid a day.”
The council also encouraged residents to take advantage of longer days and better weather by getting outdoors and being more physically active.
“Regular exercise is linked with a greater sense of wellbeing and lowers rates of depression and anxiety across all age groups. Doing as little as 10 minutes of activity can improve your mood, and the physical activity doesn’t need to be intense to make a difference. In fact, walking more is a great way to get started if you’re not currently exercising regularly.”
But they added there was no way to completely prevent the risk of developing conditions such as cancer or diabetes.
“Taking up offers from your GP for health checks or screenings can be invaluable in supporting your long-term good health.”
Diabetes Awareness Week takes place from June 13 to 19. People can make GP appointments to check their risk of developing type 2 diabetes. A healthy active lifestyle is the best way to lower the risk, and there is support available to help make necessary changes.
The theme of Men’s Health Week, which takes place the same week, is ‘it’s time for your MOT’ – a call for men to take notice of what is going on in their body and mind. Men are encouraged to get health issues which have been worrying them checked out by a GP or via NHS 111.
June 20 to 26 is Cervical Screening Awareness Week. All women and people with a cervix aged 25 to 64 will be invited by letter for regular screenings. Cervical screening is one of the best ways to prevent cervical cancer, by checking for cervical cell changes and a virus called high-risk HPV.
WCC’s health spokeswoman Coun Margaret Bell said: “Our health is one of the most important and irreplaceable things that we have, and if we all just make a couple of small changes to our lifestyles this month, we could see a big impact. Summer is a great time to start walking outside regularly and incorporate more fresh fruit and vegetables into our diet.
“We are fortunate to have a lot of quick and effective screening processes through the NHS, and I would encourage everyone who has been invited for one to take them up on it. Prevention is much better than a cure, and with many of these conditions, the earlier they are discovered, the better the outcome.”
Visit www.warwickshire.gov.uk/healthyeating to find out more about eating healthily.
Visit www.warwickshire.gov.uk/keepingactive to learn more about keeping active.
Visit https://riskscore.diabetes.org.uk/start to use an online tool from Diabetes UK to calculate your risk.
Visit https://www.menshealthforum.org.uk/mhw for more on Men’s Health Week.
Visit www.jostrust.org.uk/get-involved/campaign/cervical-screening-awareness-week for more on Cervical Screening Awareness Week, or www.nhs.uk/conditions/cervical-screening for information from the NHS about cervical screening.
Visit www.warwickshire.gov.uk/health to learn more about maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
