A leading Furness GP has criticised a new Public Health England campaign aimed at the over-40s as being 'generic' and 'unhelpful'.
Middle-aged Britons are being urged to get off their couches and cut down on unhealthy food as part of a government-backed drive to make people look after themselves.
Stark warnings about the risks of drinking and obesity form part of a new Public Health England campaign, called One You, which has been billed the biggest national health drive since Change4Life.
However, Furness GP Dr Arabella Onslow has criticised the campaign for its failure to provide practical solutions to serious health issues.
She said: "If the government seriously want to help reduce health risks then they need to pass statutory impositions on unhealthy foods and cigarettes rather than just handing out yet more information on what is good and bad for you.
"Everybody in this country knows that smoking is bad for them but we will not see a marked improvement until the government makes it illegal to smoke in public places.
"The same goes for very unhealthy foods, whether it is introducing a sugar tax or putting regulations on chocolate companies so they cannot produce supersize chocolate bars.
"We need more practical solutions for exercise and health, the government needs to make it easier for people to be healthy, not just tell them what they are doing wrong.
"In Australia there are exercise machines and instructions in the parks that are government funded. We need more money spent on practical improvements like this, not more money spent on apps and advice that people already know."
The point of the new PHE campaign is to get more people living healthily in mid-life as it can double a person's chances of staying healthy aged 70 and older.
Around 40 per cent of all deaths in England are related to poor lifestyles, such as smoking, drinking too much and being sedentary.
The NHS spends more than £11bn a year on treating illnesses caused by the effects of diet, lack of exercise, smoking and drinking alcohol. The direct cost to the NHS of obesity and people being overweight is estimated to be £6.1bn a year, while lack of exercise costs around £900m a year. Alcohol misuse costs the NHS £3.5bn a year.
At an initial cost of £3.5m, PHE's One You campaign urges people to do more to look after themselves by eating better, taking exercise and shedding pounds.
The emphasis on this campaign is on changing your lifestyle, not using quick fixes to drop a few pounds. This is something Ulverston-based personal trainer and gym owner Henry Armer agrees with and promotes with his older clients.
He said: "Too many clients come and say all I want is to be this weight or this clothing size. Where after talking to them in their consultation session most change their minds and realise what they really want is to improve their lifestyle.
"A lot of my older clients have told me how exercising and changing their eating habits has changed their quality of life completely.
"It's the simple things in life we take for granted. I had a client tell me the other day how he can now bend to get a plate out of the bottom cupboard without worrying about getting stuck down there and not being able to get up. Or another who said she hasn't been able to brush her hair with the left hand due to poor flexibility which both have been fixed with a few very simple changes."
PHE's campaign will be spread across the internet, TV, social media and in public places will urge people to test how healthy they are via a new quiz.
People taking the quiz are also asked whether they feel "fat and flabby" and what stops them taking care of themselves. Their top three health priorities, food and drink choices and sleeping habits are also analysed during the quiz. Support is then offered such as the "couch to 5K" app download, healthy-eating recipes, an alcoholic drinks tracker and links to slimming services.
If you take the quiz and feel like it is really time to do something about your health then it might be a good idea to book in with a local fitness expert.
Mr Armer said: "The best advise I could give someone wanting to get into exercise and a healthy lifestyle whether it be for the 1st time or just getting back into it after a number of years without doing any is to start small.
"The biggest mistake people make when starting is trying to do it all in the first week. It's just too much of a shock to the system for most of us. If each week you add a little bit more to your routine and eating habits, you will gradually build up to a stronger, fitter you."
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