A new health service aimed at tackling smoking, obesity, and health inequalities has launched in Bedford Borough, offering support to help residents make lasting behavioural changes.
The Health and Wellbeing Board, (4 June) was told the ‘Choose You’ service supports behaviour change and provides residents with “joined-up, integrated support to adopt healthier behaviours and improve their wellbeing”.
It has a focus on helping people to stop smoking and also weight management, and replaces the local Stop Smoking and MoreLife weight management services.
Martin Manly, public health principal, said: “It’s designed to take a more holistic approach to supporting people to make behaviour changes in these areas.
“We’re able to coordinate a slightly wider support programme for someone and look at where there might be barriers and wider determinants that is preventing them from making these changes.
“[Then] referring them or signposting them to external services,” he said.
Choose You went live on 1 April 2025 and currently delivers programmes for:
- Smoking Cessation
- Adult Weight Management
- Families Weight Management
- Postnatal Weight management
- Antenatal Weight Management
Mr Manly said: “The last part that needs to go live, and we’re due to so in the next month or so, is the health and wellbeing coaching.
“The idea with the health and wellbeing coaching is that we want to have a focus on trying to reduce health inequalities, a focus towards certain communities.
“One of the challenges of working with people from these communities is engagement in services.
“[This will] allow us to have a bit more of a focus on readiness and preparation to change as opposed to just assuming someone’s ready to change and jumping straight into the programme.
“So, if they do engage in our programmes they’re more likely to attend, more likely to complete the programmes, and more likely to get favourable results,” he said.
Choose You is available free of charge to all Bedford Borough, Central Bedfordshire and Milton Keynes residents who meet the eligibility criteria but has a particular focus on reducing health inequalities.
More information can be found at https://chooseyou.co.uk/.
By John Guinn
Local Democracy Reporter
