HEALTHY HALIFAX –
CONSUMER RESEARCH
Date 12TH March 2009
Prepared for: NHS Calderdale
Prepared by: Caroline Snell and Kath
Rhodes
1
INTRODUCTION
2
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
• NHS Calderdale want to illustrate and understand
the lives of people in its most deprived communities
in relation to weight and physical activity
• Research was needed to understand:
– Current behaviour around diet and activity
– Attitudes to losing weight
– Needs/ preferences about initiatives to help weight loss in
Halifax: what should Healthy Halifax be?
3
METHOD AND SAMPLE
• 5 x 1.5 hour group discussions, 8 in home depth interviews and 4
follow up meal time interviews or accompanied shopping trips were
conducted.
• All respondents were parents of children between 2 and 15
• All were either overweight themselves and/or had overweight
children
• Respondents lived in Illingworth and Mixenden, Ovenden, Town or
Park wards between 25th Feb to 5th March 2009
• Respondents were recruited from outside primary schools and
crèches, outside local parades of shops (convenience stores and chip
shops), in the street, in pubs, through friends of friends and via local
community workers.
• The majority of respondents were White British, but interviews with
British Asian Muslims were also conducted.
4
MAIN FINDINGS
7
KEY LEARNINGS
8
LOCAL ISSUES
GENERALLY POOR HEALTH: can act as a barrier to weight loss
(can’t exercise), but also provides the opportunity for the GP
to act as a gateway to health initiatives around food/ activity
MULTIPLE DEPRIVATION: The perceived cost of healthy eating
and participating in activities is seen as prohibitive. Weight
loss can be a lower priority vs. other health or social concerns:
depression; alcoholism; long-term disability.
LOCAL ISSUES: Safety in the local community for children
playing out in the neighbourhood and local parks is a strong
concern. Also the weather and hilly surroundings can act as a
disincentive to outdoor activity
9
FAMILY ISSUES
DON’T RECOGNISE CHILD ISSUES: parents can often be blind to
the risk of their children being over-weight – because they are
currently thin/ full of energy despite poor diet/exercise
OBESITY IS SEEN AS AN AESTHETIC ISSUE FOR CHILDREN:
parents are often unaware of the health risks associated with
obesity in children
INDIVIDUAL ISSUES: weight and health are often seen as issues
for the individual in the family, e.g. mums on a diet, one of
the children has ‘fat’ genes…
OTHER CARERS: take easy, child-placating options – often
unhealthy diet choices
10
DIET AND NUTRITION: KNOWLEDGE/ INSIGHT
ROLE MODELS: parents don’t know they are role models to
their kids – and that kids pick up and re-play their attitudes to
food (e.g. love treats, hate vegetables)
PORTION SIZES: parents don’t know about child-size portions
and how much they and their children should be eating in a day
SNACKING: parents don’t know about appropriate levels of
snacking for themselves and their kids
LACK SKILLS: parents don’t know the full picture on healthy
eating and how to make quick, easy, healthy meals for all the
family
FEAR RISK: parents choose ‘safe’ popular options
11
DIET AND NUTRITION: ATTITUDE AND BEHAVIOUR
FOOD IS LOVE: parents don’t want or know how to limit their kids’
food. They use food, particularly sugar treats, to reward and also
value giving kids choice in food
FOOD AND HAPPINESS: food and alcohol are used by adults to
comfort, alleviate boredom, entertain and for habitual treats
MISSED MEALS: lots of adults are eating erratically and missing meals,
not eating until well into the afternoon and then over-eating
afternoon and evening
MULTIPLE MEALS: kids can be given multiple meals – at child-minders/
at home..
GENDER DIFFERENCES: women are generally more willing to regulate
weight through changing diet, men are more willing to regulate weight
through exercise.
12
FURTHER BARRIERS TO WEIGHT LOSS: DIET
Past ‘failures’/
yoyo dieting
Dislike spending
time on cooking
Hard for mums
to prioritise
their needs over
others
14
Pleasure
deprivation/hunger
associated with
dieting
Low motivation
Trade off
being
overweight
with being
able eat
what want
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY: KNOWELDGE/INSIGHT
WHAT IS ACTIVE?: Most adults only have a general idea of what
physical activity entails, and what level of activity is needed
for them/ their children to lose weight
KIDS ARE ACTIVE: Only parents who acknowledge their kids are
over-weight or at risk see physical activity as something that
needs to be a planned part of family routines – most presume
their kids are sufficiently active
AN HOUR A DAY: Few are aware or even accept kids need one
hour a day physical activity
15
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY: ATTITUDES AND
BEHAVIOURS
NO TIME: parents feel they are very limited in the time that
they have to dedicate to physical activity: working patterns;
child-care issues; child routines; tiredness are all barriers
SEPARATENESS: adults can provide activities for children, but
often don’t join in – families rarely do activities together
FUN: physical activity is rarely associated with having fun, but
when it is – it is warmly welcomed
GENDER DIFFERENCES: women generally resist the idea of
strenuous activity. Men are more attracted to competitive
sports and getting fit
16
FURTHER BARRIERS TO WEIGHT LOSS:
EXERCISE
Past
‘failures’
Needing to
devote a
lot of time/
effort to
get results
17
younger children in tow
Fear of
children
playing out/
area
Lack of childcare facilities/
concerns over
child-care
Associate
exercise
with
youth
Needing to
Cost
cater for
Dislike the idea Effort needed children of
different ages/
of physical
discomfort –
Embarrassment
sweaty, heart
racing
CASE STUDIES
18
MORE MOTIVATED
20
ALL CHANGE ADAMS
• Dad working, mum not , boy 5, girl 4, girl 2
• Both parents have weight related medical
issues (but no advice on weight loss)
• Dad has recently given up smoking
• Strong desire that children do not become
overweight like them
• Child freedom to choose food v. important
• 2 weeks into new healthy regime – lower
fat, less take aways, more veg, more home
cooking (little awareness of portion sizes)
• Want children to be active but afraid of
local area
• Travel in car to go to park (infrequently)
• Disinclined to exercise themselves
• Mum v shy – rejects group activities
21
ALL CHANGE ADAMS
There’s nowt round here that you’ll really want to walk for… we go
where we want to be and then walk from there…..I don’t even let the
kids out to go and play on the park here…. The furthest we let the
kids out of the house is in the back garden to play, they’ve got bikes
and bits out there …. If we are going anywhere and they want to play
out we go to a park where we know they are safe…. That (climbing
frame) has been here for 6 years, its been damaged… you wouldn’t
want to let the kids out because of the joy riders running about… you
get a lot of that round here. 1
We will get in set foods and let them decide what they want
themselves, unless it’s a rush job. When I was growing up it was set
meals every night. I don’t want to give that sort of thing…..My
mother used to pile my plate up sky high. I was getting an adult
portion when I was 5…. 2
22
ALL CHANGE ADAMS: INSIGHTS AND
THEMES
 Child safety a key concern
 Lack of depth of knowledge e.g.
 Parents and children joining in together to do activities
 Ways to play/ stay active
 How much diet needs to change: child-sized portions/ snacking
behaviour/ nutritional information
 Child choice and autonomy around food can get in the way of
good diet
 Personal psychology – options needed for individual
support as well as groups
23
TRYING TRACY
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
24
Married, both working, daughter 11, son, 10
Wants to lose weight herself
Has sent off for Change 4 Life pack
Has been member of gym before
Work and children fill her time
Tries to be active with her kids, family walks,
walking the dog, but infrequent
Is aware son (10) is getting bigger, unsure
how to address
He will do rugby in summer (but worried as
has asthma)
He wants to eat like his father – same
portions
Grandma child minds after school, and likes
to give them popular food i.e. pizza
TRYING TRACY & FAMILY
Meal
Mum
Dad
Girl 11
Boy 10
Breakfast
coffee
coffee
1 crumpet
4 crumpets
Lunch (12.15)
Snack attack + apple juice + frube +
crisps
Snack on way
home
Packet of crisps
Packet of crisps
At Grans
(3.15)
Mini pizza snack X
1
Mini pizza snack
X4
6pm
Fajitas – chicken in breadcrumbs, tortilla wrap, salad, pasta, salsa &
coleslaw
2 or 3
Pre bed snack Chocolate/crisps
25
5
2
5
TRYING TRACY
The rugby club is further up the road and X (son) was
doing rugby when he was younger. But he was getting a
lot of problems with his chest and I took him to the
doctor who said he had asthma. So he hasn’t done it
since, but he does want to go back into it, so we are
looking at going back into that 3
Depends on what mood he (partner) is in really. Whether
he wants to do anything. Cos he does work, not long
hours, but everyday, when he comes home all he wants to
do is rest he doesn’t want to be going for walks and stuff
4
26
TRYING TRACY: INSIGHTS AND THEMES
 Food issues:
 portion size,
 food knowledge,
 mini me,
 childminder feeding unhealthily
 GP as gateway
 Health barriers to exercise
 Hard to fit exercise into everyday life
27
SEPARATED SMITHS
• Divorced, mum (student), dad (working) takes
daughters (6 and 2 ½ ) out every Sunday pm
• Mum overweight since 3
• Mum wants to improve health (smoking weight,
tackling weight first – dietician)
• Elder daughter bullied because of weight (post
divorce), mum wants to help her change
• Trying to cut out snacks and monitor food (hard
to control what childminder gives her and child
‘steals’ food)
• Enrolled her in more clubs – gymnastics and
swimming
• Dad sees kids on Sunday pm – he always does
something active, but feeds kids whatever they
want
28
SEPARATED SMITHS
Meal
Girl 6
Girl 2.5
Breakfast
Honey shreddies + milk
Chocolate ready
brek
Lunch
(12ish)
1st chicken sandwich + salad
Sausage casserole
2nd sausages + peas + sweet
corn + banana
Snack/at
childminder
biscuit
Croissant + custard
Tea (6pm)
chicken with
cook in tikka
masala sauce +
rice + pitta
Fish fingers + new potatoes + carrots + broccoli
Muller rice +
biscuit
cereal
Pre bed
snack
29
MUM
Petit filou
SEPARATED SMITHS
Dad, usually takes them swimming on a Sunday, I don’t tend to take them
swimming. He only has them on a Sunday so not that much (involved in
their physical activity)….It’s active, it gets us out. I take them swimming,
to the park, a bit of both, or ice skating. I’m pretty active, or try to be.
(eat?) Anything they want to…. She had an allergic reaction on Monday so I
rang up to find out what they ate. He just said an abundance of sweets,
millions of sweets…so no chance of finding out what caused the allergic
reaction….Sunday they get what they want. 5
I don’t want her to know the word, I don’t want to say to her you are on a
diet. There are times when I lose my patience when she steals from the
cupboard – for God’s sake no wonder you are fat. Then I feel awful. Now I
try to watch what I say, last year were hard. I’m a lot better in myself this
year. Now I’ll say I’m trying to help you, and me, I want to get fitter. How
can I help you when you are stealing out of the cupboard. I don’t want to
take her there (the dietician) and make her feel like… I think I can go there
and learn enough to pass it on. 6
30
SEPARATED SMITHS: INSIGHTS AND
THEMES
 Gender focus (male exercise, female diet)
 GP as gateway
 Child bullying
 Children as the focus of concern in the family
 The psychological aspects of food and weight gain
 Limited awareness of:
 How much activity needed
 How much diet needs to change: child-sized portions/ snacking
behaviour
 Parents as role models
31
MOTIVATED MAYA
• Born in Pakistan, husband born in the
UK, 1 daughter (9) and 1 son (1)
• Motivated to exercise and lose weight
• Has already made an appointment to
see a dietician (via the GP)
• Has already joined a cooking club
• Support from rest of family is shortlived
• Finds it very hard to say no to her
husband or children, both also want to
eat ‘British’ food
• Experience and repertoire of British
food is mainly unhealthy
• Priority for children is religious and
academic study
34
MOTIVATED MAYA
(My kids say) Mum I want chocolate, I want crisps, mum I want this…
The habits we’ve got go into children….But if you stop the children
and say no.. I haven’t got that big a heart. I am a very soft person.
You have to make yourself a very hard person to say no….for 2 weeks
they make you very upset….Then they say why, why you stop
chocolate ….If I say no my husband says alright. 7
I started dieting at the first of last month. I said to my husband,
please, I need to diet, I feel unhealthy and lazy. I was crying and
getting a bit emotional. He said ok and that he would eat the
(healthy) food I made. He lasted 2 weeks, and then he said ‘who
told you were overweight’. I said I feel it, nobody told me. But he
doesn’t agree so I say he can buy any food he likes but should eat it
outside or in the bedroom. 8
35
ADDITIONAL THEMES FROM ASIAN WOMEN
 Many cultural foods high in fat
 Culturally important to provide food for guests and family
 Role of mother and wife important – to support and care for
others, denying/restricting food difficult to sustain and
receives little support from family
 Hard to say no to children
 Want to give children ‘British’ food, want to learn how to cook
in British and modern Pakistani style food
 Substantial snacking after school and again after religious
study
36
ADDITIONAL THEMES FROM ASIAN WOMEN
 Range of motivation to exercise, some strongly in
favour
 Facilities must be segregated, culturally appropriate
and sufficient.
 Strong interest in all Asian women walking group
 Activity clubs for children lower priority than
academic and religious education.
 Can see activity for boys as a man’s role
37
OVERWEIGHT OLIVIA
• Father working, wife and grandmother, 2
girls (4 and 2 ½) son (1 ½)
• Worried about eldest daughter
• Thoughts prompted by Channel 5 show
‘Too fat to toddle’
• Trying to introduce strategies to reduce
her weight – limiting snacks, saying no to
her requests
• Limited knowledge of what further
measures to introduce
• Still rewarding with food
• Mother previously bulimic
• Food anxiety re one child’s constipation
38
OVERWEIGHT OLIVIA: INSIGHTS AND
THEMES
 Role of TV in raising awareness of child obesity
 Limited strategies to reduce child weight
 Limited knowledge of the purpose of healthy eating
 Unhealthy snacks as reward
 Focus on individual rather than family change
39
LOWER MOTIVATION
40
BUSY BRENDA
• Single mum (not working) 4, 9 and
16
• Losing weight is not high on her
priorities and her children are slim
• Enjoys eating, drinking, deep
frying and snacking frequent
• Little understanding or interest in
nutrition
• Value for money very important
• Too tired to do anything after 7.30
• Not particularly motivated to
change
41
BUSY BRENDA
The sweets I keep in the cupboard next to the tins of food. So
when I say to the kids what do you want for tea, they can see
the sweets and they know they won’t get their sweets without
eating their tea. So they pick what they want looking at the
sweets. At least they’ll pick something, then they know they
can go back in for the sweets. 9
A luxury thing for the weekend for me and my boyfriend is a
curry. We like it on chips and that’s when we have our beer and
that’s it. 10
When I make chocolate muffins, I do them triple size . To buy
them ….would cost £4/5, but when I cook them for about 12 it
costs no more than £1.50 11
42
BUSY BRENDA : INSIGHTS AND THEMES
 Represents a common attitude
 Hard to reach audience
 Enjoys food and her lifestyle
 Lack of willingness to change
 Lack of perceived need to change
43
NO PROBLEM NEIL
• Dad, Mum, daughter (7)
• Dad’s first meal of day at 6pm
• Used to be in army, believes only way to
lose weight is by exercise
• Arteriosclerosis prevents him exercising
• Resigned to own bad health and weight
• Believes overweight daughter (7) only has
puppy fat
• Associates child weight with appearance
/popularity more than health
• She ‘steals’ food from cupboards and often
asks for sweets
44
NO PROBLEM NEIL & FAMILY
Meal
Dad
Mum
Girl 7
Breakfast
5am - coffee
coffee
cereal
2 biscuits
Ham sandwiches, mini
jaffas, muffins
Lunch (12ish)
Snack
Tea
Supper (7.30)
45
Sugar lollies
6pm 6 slices of bread, 4
beef burgers, 4 fish fingers
(4pm) Shepherds pie and chips
cereal
NO PROBLEM NEIL
Little lass, she’s slightly chubbier than she should be ..according to
the school ….she is slightly overweight…they say you’ll have to watch
what you are giving her and cut down on her sweets…. it comes down
to stuff we can afford to get… I try to put as much fruit in her as I can
and she’s not overly keen on her veg either
She is fairly active.. personally I call it puppy fat, once she is older
she’ll soon have it off…. Schools are all the same, if she is not
underweight she is overweight….
We tried a chart system, she can have a sweet but not a handful, she
behaves she can have a sweet and if she were bad, the following day
she didn’t get it. 12
She doesn’t like much on the healthy side, like I don’t…..
Sunday dinners (when he was a child) were a nightmare…. Turnip,
brussels and cauliflower…uggh… but they were on your plate so you had
to eat 13
46
NO PROBLEM NEIL : INSIGHTS AND
THEMES
 Hard for parent to see child obesity
 Child obesity seen as an aesthetics not a health
issue
 Illness prevents exercise
 Associates health and weight loss with army style
extreme exercise
 GP as potential gateway
47
RESPONSE TO IDEAS FOR
HEALTHY HALIFAX
51
ACTIVITIES
52
FUN TOGETHER
Ideas which centre around having fun as a group of
adults and children have appeal
HAVE FUN IN THE PARK – WEEKEND, HALF TERM AND SUMMER ACTIVITIES
COOKING CLUB – NEEDS TO BE CENTRED AROUND HEALTHY EATING
COMPUTER GAMES AT THE SPORT CENTRE (E.G. Wii FIT) INTERESTING
FOR SOME IF IT IS PRACTICAL TO DELIVER (LIKE BOWLING ALLEYS)
TRANSPORT TO SAFE PLAY AREAS WITH ADULT/ CHILD ACTIVITIES
TRANSPORT TO BEAUTY SPOTS WITH WALKING TRAILS
CHILD FOCUSED WALKS IN TOWN/ COUNTRY
53
WHY FUN TOGETHER?
• Parents more readily focus on leisure time:
–
–
–
–
They have time to do this
They see the merit of doing things with kids
Anything that is fun is more positive, less arduous than ‘working out’
Adults and children benefit – adults access their childish side
• Halifax has beautiful countryside:
– So opportunities to get out there/ be taken there are welcome
• Safety is a major concern:
– So being ‘transported’ to safe places feels positive for parents
A way to get the family starting to feel positive about
getting moving, but the message about frequent
activity can be lost…
54
SCHOOL-CENTRED ACTIVITY
Popular ideas centre around activities and
information with school at the heart of the
community…
AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVE CLUB FOR ADULTS AND KIDS
FIT CLUB – CHOOSE FROM DIFFERENT TYPES OF FUN ACTIVITES E.G.
DANCE CLUB/ FIGHT CLUB/ CIRCUITS/ PERFORM
WHAT’S ON IN HALIFAX FOR YOU AND THE KIDS – INFORMATION ABOUT
WHAT’S ON FED THROUGH THE SCHOOL/ OR YOUR DOOR..
COOKING CLUB – COULD ALSO BE ELSWHERE
55
WHY SCHOOL-CENTRED ACTIVITY?
• Fits into the routine of life, mums already having to go to
school anyway
• Real appeal with the idea of mums and kids doing stuff
together
• And.. Key is HAVING FUN
• Schools potentially have the facilities needed (space for
clubs)
• Could provide child-care for kids under school age
• Might be able to offer rolling programme (up to 5 nights a
week)
56
WHY SCHOOL CENTRED ACTIVITY?
• Watch-outs:
– Lots of after school activities already
– Would interest wane?/ same crowd always join in
– Cost/ need to charge something to gain commitment
57
WORK INITIATIVES
Ideas which centre around the workplace are
supported by working men/ women
COMPETITIVE ACTIVITIES – PARTICULARLY FOR MEN
TIME AVAILABLE TO RUN/ WORK OUT
WEIGHT LOSS CHALLENGES/ RAISE MONEY FOR CHARITY
NUTRITIONAL SUPPORT AND IDEAS
58
WHY WORK INITIATIVES?
• Time is a major factor in fitting in activities, so support in
the work-place can make this a possibility
• Men respond particularly well to competitions/
tournaments
• Women are interested in the support of a group..
A way to overcome the key ‘time’ barrier/ meet the
needs of an individual
59
ACTIVITIES WITH MORE LIMITED APPEAL
High frequency/ high commitment activities can be hard to
accept for all but the most motivated…
Free/ Subsidised gym membership/ Swimming
• Some are keen to attend the gym/swim but facilities act as
an obstacle:
–
–
–
–
–
Ltd child care facilities
Limited number of machines/ limited opportunities to swim how you want
Changing rooms not suitable for Muslim women
Classes on in the day-time, not early evening
No time to fit this in
• At the gym, many feel overwhelmed by the idea of:
– Thin, judgemental gym regulars (women)
– Big pumped up regulars (men)
60
ACTIVITIES WITH MORE LIMITED APPEAL
High frequency/ high commitment activities can be
hard to accept for all but the most motivated…
Free/ Subsidised gym membership/ Swimming
• Muslim women (Park) are keen to an improved facility
dedicated to them/ their cultural needs
61
ACTIVITIES WITH MORE LIMITED APPEAL
For the more motivated…
Focus needs to be on making current facilities more
accessible: times; changing facilities; price
62
ACTIVITIES WITH MORE LIMITED APPEAL
High frequency/ high commitment activities can be
hard to accept…
1 hour a day of child activity
• Hard to accept that children need to do an hour a
day:
– Already do lots at school
• Hard to see how can fit in an hour a day for
children:
– Already busy routines (after school clubs/ religious education)
– Need time to play
– ‘Adult-time’ in the evening – don’t want to focus on doing
things with the kids
63
ACTIVITIES WITH MORE LIMITED APPEAL
Focus needs to be on giving the message about an hour
a day time to cut through, and to provide lots of
strategies for quick fun 10 minute slots – following
lead of change4 life..
64
ACTIVITIES WITH MORE LIMITED APPEAL
• Walking club
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Asian women respond very positively
Can get together as a group
Opportunity to do gentle exercise
And.. Experience Halifax’s countryside
Perhaps a chance to learn more on exercise and nutrition
Could be schools based
Other are less keen..
• Pedometers
– The most motivated may use pedometers to encourage more
walking
• Bike initiatives:
– Less interesting: hills/ weather related
– Although.. Disused railway lines could make good tracks
65
MISSING INITIATIVES
Men have a particular focus on being active – are
there initiatives which can focus on:
• Traditional sports
• Tournaments and competitions
• Army-style training
• Appealing to the male psyche: goal oriented
approaches?
66
DIET/ ADVICE
67
BUILDING UP KNOWLEDGE
Knowledge-base on diet and nutrition is low and
interest is there if delivered in the right way..
CHANGE 4 LIFE EASY HINTS AND TIPS E.G. ME SIZE MEALS
CONSULT A NUTRITIONIST/ FOOD AND LIFESTYLE ADVISOR: ONE TO ONE/
IN A FREE ‘DIETING’ GROUP
COOKERY SCHOOL – LEARN ABOUT EASY, QUICK AND CHEAP HEALTHY
MEALS
RECIPE CARDS FROM THE SUPERMARKET
68
ABOUT BUILDING UP KNOWLEDGE
• Delivery of information and support needs to be
done in various different ways in order to appeal to
the widest ‘audience’:
– For some one-to-one consultation is needed: uncomfortable in
the group, need attention and support
– For some information needs to be easily on-hand – door drops/
through the school / at a central location (One stop shop)
– For some the group environment would be positive, feel safer
supportive
• The overall appeal of knowledge initiatives lies in
the emerging (for some) sense of what they don’t
know/ they need to know more
69
MOTIVATION
Linked to knowledge, initiatives which try to
support and motivate (in particular women) are
needed for some
PERSONAL SUPPORT/ TRAINER/ DIETICIAN
ONE STOP SHOP
70
ABOUT MOTIVATION
• For some one-to-one support to kick start a change
for life is important:
– Lots of issues to contend with (health, family weight, lack of
opportunities)
– Low motivation
– Trainers/ coaches sometimes wanted to give unequivocal
advice on what is needed in a personal situation
• One-stop-shop for advice and information:
– Is supported by those who travel into town centre (Illingworth
less likely to use, maybe Park too?)
– BUT key is to create a fun and positive environment that
doesn’t feel too institutionalised
71
MAKING HEALTHY EATING AFFORDABLE
Some appeal with helping financially..
• Free slimming clubs
– Some have tried WW/ Slimming World and find them expensive, but
value the weekly commitment to weigh-ins
– A free club is therefore highly motivating for those who have tried
with clubs in the past
– Expectations are that the club would really focus on success (WW/ SW
needs you to fail to some degree)
– AND the club would be more holistic providing nutrition advice,
activity advice
– Needs to run for more than a limited time frame
• Money off vouchers for Weight Watchers/ Slimming World:
– Only those already doing WW/ SW find this motivating
– For others – put off by the fact they’d have to pay at some point/ don’t
find slimming clubs appealing
72
MAKING HEALTHY EATING AFFORDABLE
Some appeal with helping financially..
• Financial incentives to lose weight:
– Those with lowest incomes/ on full benefits can be really
motivated at first – a good way to boost income
– BUT even here some doubt that they’ll succeed and feel this
might reinforce a sense of failure long-term
– Others can feel this is wrong – motivation should be internal
– HOWEVER do support rewarding success e.g. if you reach
target weight i.e. get free gym membership for x amount of
time
• Money off on Fruit and Veg at Borough Market
– Users of the market think this has appeal
– Supports the market/ sends out positive nutrition messages
– Non users can perceive the market as expensive – need to
indicate prices to reassure
73
ACTIVITIES WITH MORE LIMITED APPEAL
• Gardening Club:
– Parents believe children will really enjoy this experience, but
it might not help with good nutrition
• Community Garden
– Muted appeal for some, some not sure they would participate
74
CONCLUSIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
75
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
• There is a range of motivations, levels of knowledge
and specific needs found amongst people within the key
areas in relation to weight loss and exercise.
• Those with the greatest motivation to lose weight, and
therefore the greatest openness to outside initiatives,
tend to be people with overweight or genetically ‘at
risk’ children 2 – 10.
• Children, in fact, often provide a route into tackling
weight issues within the whole family context, and
indeed parents are most motivated with they become
aware of the need to give their children the best start
in life through diet and exercise
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CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
• Barriers to weight loss can be complex and deep
rooted and specific to different personal
circumstances. Services and initiatives within the
Healthy Halifax programme will need to cater for
different personal psychologies and will need to
include individual as well as group support/activity.
• There is a strong educational need for further
information and strategies towards healthy living,
knowledge on nutrition and cooking skills in
particular are very limited, but interest in learning
more is there
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CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
• When developing the Healthy Halifax initiative, it is
worth taking into account:
– Most are aware of the Change for Life campaign, but not all have
realised that there is something in it for them. When seen the
Change for Life packs are very well received. These packs could
play a stronger role for parents in Halifax, i.e. if sent home from
school in kids bags/picked up from school/handed out at after
school clubs or even door dropped.
– Due to high levels of chronic illness in the key areas, GPs are a
key gateway for parents getting assistance with change. They
could potentially play a strong role in directing patients towards
advice and support.
– Perception of child safety is another key theme, there is a strong
desire to travel to safer areas for children to play / walk outside.
However, for clubs there is greatest motivation when the activity
/ event is close to home.
– The idea of activity which involves having fun with the children
can be very motivating. Although parents often have limited
motivation to be more active this can change when the activity
involves having fun with their children.
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CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
• Specific and different needs also emerge:
– Women can be more open to weight loss programmes and can
respond well to ideas which focus around group support
– Men often respond better to ideas which reflect masculine
interests in competition and achieving goals
– Facilities and activities for the Asian Muslim women within our
sample need to be gender segregated. Women can be deterred
from activity not because of lack of motivation but because of
overcrowded or in appropriate facilities.
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