IT was once a thriving steel-making hub of industry, but now Middlesbrough has been dubbed “Britain’s sickest town”, where the jobless can go without work for decades.
In the home of the calorie-laden ‘Parmo’, nearly a third of the population aged 16 to 64 is neither in work nor looking for a job – around eight per cent above the British average.
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It’s no coincidence that the town is also in the grip of a shocking
public health epidemic, with poverty being the single greatest factor in people’s ability to access health services and nutritious food.
The South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, was recently rated the ‘sickest’ in the UK – measured by combining the percentage of people who were inactive due to ill health with waiting lists per population size.
And according to Middlesbrough Council, an estimated 71 per cent of over-18s are overweight or living with obesity, with 25.4 per cent of children in reception class at primary school overweight and living with obesity.
Shockingly, 42.4 per cent are overweight and living with obesity by the age of 11.
On Linthorpe Road, which runs through the centre of the North Yorks town, the majority of units are occupied by a myriad of takeaways and on the menu of most is the infamous Teesside Parmo, for as little as £7.50.
The deep-fried delicacy – a breaded cutlet of chicken or pork topped with a white béchamel sauce and cheese – is a favourite across the region, but a single serving can carry an artery-clogging 2,500 calories.
Local health and nutrition guru Mike Hind says cheap junk food is fuelling the obesity figures.
“Many parents are working really, really hard to try and give their children a future but the problem is that there’s so much convenience food, whether it be a local McDonald’s or another takeaway shop,” he tells The Sun.
“You can get a meal deal consisting of a kebab, a pizza, a burger, and feed a family of four, probably two meals, and that costs £10.”
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This week the Government announced plans to give free ‘fat jabs’ – such as Ozempic and Wegovy – to unemployed people to encourage them to get fit enough for work, starting with a trial in Manchester.
But Middlesbrough resident Frank Forster, 80, says lack of opportunity is to blame for the obesity crisis.
“When people don’t have jobs to go to or the prospect of jobs to go to even, you get a decline in living standards and health,” he says.
“Because of the lack of work and the hardship that brings, people are now eating poor quality foods and taking God knows. All that adds up to an area struggling with poor health.”
Deprivation goes hand in hand with the obesity crisis, with 40 per cent of children live in “absolute poverty“. A report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation found a growing number are unable to meet the basic human needs of staying warm, dry, clean and fed.
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‘Abandoned and forgotten’
Little wonder, then, that Teesside has been picked as the place to spearhead a new government health initiative aimed at getting more people back into work.
Health secretary Wes Streeting has unveiled a plan to send in “crack teams of top clinicians” to 20 hospitals in the north and Midlands, with the South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust the number one target.
Streeting’s vision is for the flying medics to perform rapid surgeries modelled on Formula 1 pit stops, to reduce NHS waiting times and boost the economy by getting the sick back to work.
But Teessiders told The Sun the plan only papers over the cracks.
Gran Carol Tipp, 62, hasn’t worked in over 30 years due to problems with her neck, knees and lower back.
The former shop worker said: “I feel as though the people in this region have been abandoned and forgotten. There is nothing for us here.
“Wherever you look there are no shops – just takeaways and betting shops.
You can get a meal deal consisting of a kebab, a pizza, a burger, and feed a family of four, probably two meals, and that costs £10
Mike Hind, nutritionist
“There is no work because all the industry closed down and there’s nowhere for the kids to go and do sports and follow their interests.
“Everything that we had here has gone, the steelworks being the latest and everything we knew has been decimated. There’s no doubt being out of work affects people’s health.
“Anything that helps to get people treated faster is good, so in that sense the government’s idea is good, but it’s too late for someone like me who is 62 and has been suffering with my health problems for years and years.
“It’s 30 years since I was in a job. I had my family to bring up in that time, but the main factor was my health problems.”
Former hairdresser Dawn Buckley, 51, said: “It just isn’t as simple as sending more surgeons up to perform operations.
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“I suffer from lymphoedema and fibromyalgia, which cause me pain and chronic fatigue, and the only thing that can help me is medication and rest.
“I used to work and would love to be able to go back to work, no one wants to be in this situation.
“Sometimes it is three days before I can get out of bed and my housework is done by my son. It’s very hard but a team of surgeons at James Cook would be no help to me I’m afraid.”
Connor Hamilton, 31, said: “I was diagnosed with autism and that has made things very hard for me in terms of getting a job.
“I did work for four years in the construction industry, and I loved it, I enjoyed going to work and despite the difficulties I had I felt as though I did a good job.
“But when that came to an end, I’ve struggled to find new work and I don’t think around here that there are enough places where people with a disability can go to improve their chances.
“I feel lucky because in Loftus, where I live, a skills centre is opening where I might be able to get some GCSEs to improve my chances of getting a job.
“I like the government’s plan to send in more doctors, if it cuts down the time that people are waiting for treatment and allows more people to go back to work then that has to be a good thing.”
Frank, a retired quality manager who worked in the fabrications industry, believes there is a direct link between health and poverty.
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He said: “I left the Tyne 50 years ago, which was buzzing, to come and work on the Tees, which was also buzzing.
“In those days there was industry right across the North East and people felt they had jobs for life and were able to provide for their families.
“Then along came Margaret Thatcher and all that came to an end, she closed down the mines, the shipyards and everything that this part of the world was built on.
“I was walking through the town centre and I can’t believe how quiet it is, how few people are out shopping and putting money into the economy. I also passed a lad on street in a sleeping bag. It’s just very sad.”
‘Proactive approach’
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Health and nutrition guru Mike Hind was awarded the MBE in the 2020 New Year’s Honours list for services to Teesside.
Mike and his team at Macro Based Diet made sure a constant supply of healthy meals went out to those who needed them throughout the pandemic and he has campaigned to make nutrition a priority across the area.
He believes Streeting’s plan for James Cook hospital doesn’t go far enough.
Mike said: “Investing money in a crack team of clinicians to work within a hospital setting is a reactive approach and what we need is a proactive approach that stops the problem at the root.
“The proactive approach would be to start from the bottom and work our way up, to chip away at the bottom of the iceberg so the top of it, the bit we can all see, floats away.
“The money being spent on medicine and medical treatments could be utilised in a way where people could eat healthily and the benefits in avoiding illness follow from that.
“Lack of income is massive in this. If you look at what’s more expensive now, to eat healthily or to eat unhealthily convenience food is cheaper.
“If you’re making home-cooked meat yourself at home, you can get a bag of potatoes, you can get a tin of tuna, and you can make something like a tuna jacket potato.
“But have people got the ability to cook that? Do they have the gas? Do they have the electricity? Do they have the white goods to be able to do those things? Do they have the knowledge?
“I think our government need to come together with GP practices, with people who are educated and help the public, especially here on Teesside, prolong their life, live a quality of life and help the future generations.
“Because ultimately, it’s our children and our grandchildren who are going to suffer, they’re going to see the effects of what we’re doing today, when they’re growing the older.”
All the ways obesity can kill
Being overweight doesn’t automatically kill you.
But carrying excess fat is associated with lots of health problems.
Firstly, there’s heart disease.
Extra body fat can lead to high blood pressure and cholesterol, raising the chances of heart attacks.
Then we have type 2 diabetes.
Carrying excess weight makes your body resistant to insulin, resulting in high blood sugar levels and complications like kidney failure.
Obesity is also linked to 13 different cancers, which include:
- Adenocarcinoma of the esophagus
- Breast cancer in postmenopausal women
- Colon and rectum cancer
- Uterus cancer
- Gallbladder cancer
- Upper stomach cancer
- Kidney cancer
- Liver cancer
- Ovaries cancer
- Pancreas cancer
- Thyroid cancer
- Meningioma, a type of brain cancer
- Multiple myeloma
Sleep apnea, which disrupts breathing during sleep and can make people snore, is another risk.
Not being able to breathe properly can lead to a sudden drop in oxygen levels, which can be bad for the heart.
Being obese can also impact mental health, often leading to depression and anxiety due to stigma and discrimination.
He believes the eating habits of income-starved households is driving the public health crisis.
Mike added: “In my opinion, the reason we have got this situation on Teesside and in the UK as a whole, but predominately here on Teessde stems from from being school age.
“And that’s not so much just a children’s fault, but the parents at home haven’t had the education. They don’t understand the importance of nutrition, on healthy eating and regular exercise.
“So we can’t blame the parents because it’s lack of knowledge but it’s Also, there is a lack of support from the government and from the people who have the ability to teach those who don’t know where to turn.”
Local authorities have rolled out a range of initiatives to tackle Teesside’s health crisis, including a plan to reduce the levels of obesity.
A new high street facility aimed at boosting public health and
wellbeing, The Live Well Centre, has been opened in one of Middlesbrough’s busiest shopping malls.
And a Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC) will focus on addressing the area’s inequalities and the factors that impact negatively on health and life-expectancy on Teesside.
Working in partnership with Teesside University and Public Health South Tees – covering the Middlesbrough and Redcar & Cleveland local authorities – the HDRC will “embed a positive research culture” across the area.
New criteria for disability benefit
Changes to disability benefit assessments are expected to come into force soon as Chancellor Rachel Reeves aims to shave £3 billion from the welfare bill.
Last yearn the Conservative government laid out reformed to the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) with changes to criteria for eligibility. The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), estimates the reforms would see 450,000 fewer people on the benefit.
Labour’s election manifesto also pledged to go ahead with the changes, which is forecasted to save £3 billion over the next four years.
The Conservative plans altered the criteria,making it harder for people to qualify. These are:
- Removing the “Mobilising” activity used to assess limited capability for work and work-related activity (LCWRA)
- Realigning the LCWRA Substantial Risk rules with the original policy intent of only applying in exceptional circumstances
- Reducing points for some of the descriptors under the Getting About activity used to assess limited capability for work (LCW)
Jan Lecouturier, Head of Knowledge and Innovation with Public Health South Tees, said: “I am delighted and feel privileged to be able to play a part in the HDRC and the impact it will have.
“This is a fantastic opportunity which brings together our Public Health excellence, research skills and the Councils’ enthusiasm for positive action.
“I can clearly see that the HDRC will make a real difference to the lives of people of all ages and communities in Middlesbrough and Redcar & Cleveland.”
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