Cambridgeshire

Young people in South Cambridgeshire speak out on health
Andrew Lansley, MP for Cambridgeshire South and Shadow Secretary of State for Health, visits Cambourne Youth Partnership

Young people from the Cambourne Youth Partnership (Cambridgeshire South) shared their views and concerns on health with their local MP, Andrew Lansley, on 13 November 2009 as part of a national youth health campaign.

Make Space for Health is run by national children’s charity 4Children and supported by Nestlé UK.  The programme delivers health advice and activities in youth clubs and facilitates better ‘joined-up’ health support for young people at a national and local level.

Andrew Lansley, Shadow Secretary of State for Health and MP for South Cambridgeshire said:
“Campaigns like Make Space for Health play an important role in improving young people’s health. It’s clear that support is more effective when local organisations pull together to help young people on their own terms. Places like youth clubs are ideal settings as young people always respond more positively to health support when they feel relaxed and at ease in their environment.”

Young people attending the event participated in a fun cookery demonstration hosted by two professional Nestlé chefs who taught them some quick and simple healthy recipes. Andrew Lansley MP then led a discussion with the young people on issues ranging from how healthy they perceive themselves to be to how they would most like to access trustworthy advice and support.

Anne Longfield OBE, Chief Executive of 4Children, said:
“Make Space for Health responds to young people telling us they want to be healthier but don't have enough support or know where to go to get information. That’s why this programme has been developed to ensure that health services are available in a variety of community settings so that all young people have the right kind of support at their fingertips.”

Paul Grimwood, CEO, Nestlé UK, said:
“Encouraging young people to adopt healthy eating habits at a young age is critical as it gives them the best possible chance of becoming healthy adults later in life.  We are proud to be supporting the Make Space for Health programme which promotes healthy lifestyles to young people outside of school.  With over 140 years of experience in food and nutrition research Nestlé is committed to adding value to the communities in which we operate and placing nutrition, health and wellness at the heart of everything we do.

David McEwan-Cox, Chairman of Cambourne Youth Partnership, said:
“I welcome the event and am glad that healthy eating is becoming a priority. We are at present looking at expanding our premises and on the wish list is a training kitchen to run healthy eating sessions on a more regular basis. We occasionally run clubs that teach cookery skills to young people and are excited by the opportunity to further their practical skills in a fun way.”

The event took place following the recent TellUs3 Local Authority Report. Encouragingly, the report revealed that 28% of young people in Cambridgeshire said they usually eat five or more portions of fruit and veg on 5 or more days a week. The regional figure is 5% higher than the national average (23%). However, there were also indications that experimentation with alcohol among young people may be more prevalent in Cambridgeshire than other parts of the country. Just 17% of young people from the borough said they had never had an alcoholic drink. The figure is 8% lower than the national average of 25%.