Whether your resolution is to cut down on sugary food, reduce your alcohol intake or become more active, health experts in Norfolk and Waveney are waiting to support you on your journey.

Members of the public ready to make a change for 2013 are being urged by NHS Norfolk and Waveney to take up free services available to support them in doing just that.

Dr Jenny Harries, Director of Public Health, said: “Maintaining a healthy lifestyle through balanced diet, regular exercise and a reduced alcohol intake, for example, can help reduce your risk of developing serious conditions such as diabetes, kidney disease or heart disease.
“Health services aren’t just here to patch you up when you become ill – there is a lot we can do to help get you healthy and keep you healthy to prevent illness from occurring.”

Free NHS Health Checks are available once every five years for people aged 40 to 74 to help assess their risk of illnesses such as heart attack and stroke. Another service, called Health Trainers, is also available for anyone aged 16 or over who are motivated to make healthy lifestyle choices.

Health Checks available through your GP or participating pharmacies, looks at glucose levels, blood pressure, lifestyle and BMI to understand where a person’s health can be improved.

Uju Okereke, Senior Public Health Officer and Health Check lead, said: “After an NHS Health Check your risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and diabetes will be assessed as low medium or high risk and you’ll be offered personalised advice and support to help you lower that risk

The person will also be referred or signposted to relevant services such as Smokefree, weight management programmes, the Health Trainer service or our online directory of healthy lifestyle services, Norfolk’s Living Well (www.norfolkslivingwell.org.uk).

Dr Harries added: “It is a fact that early heart disease including heart attacks is in many cases preventable. The Health Trainer service and NHS Health Checks are all about identifying issues around your lifestyle such as smoking or lack of physical activity, and supporting you to tackle these before things get serious.”

The Norfolk Health Trainer Service provides support and encouragement to help people set small goals to achieve positive long-term behaviour changes.

Pamela Cranston, Health Trainer Coordinator for Norwich, said: “Health Trainers provide a personalised service based on what the individual wants to, and can realistically achieve.

“We then meet with people to explore what area of their lifestyle they would like to change and identify what barriers they have to making a change and work with them to come up with solutions to overcome this. We will provide support to set small realistic goals towards the change they want to make .”