A new documentary-style video shines a light on the reality of day-to-day family life in Hounslow and the pressures facing parents/carers to provide a healthy, balanced diet for their children.
Published: Tuesday, 31st October 2023
A new documentary-style video produced by Hounslow Council and healthy lifestyle organisation BeeZee Bodies focused on a day with working mum Veena and the daily challenges she faces to put her and her family’s health at the top of the agenda.
The four-minute-long video follows a day with Veena and her family, and in doing so captures some of the many barriers to health commonly found in the food environment across the borough.
With an increasing number of residents in Hounslow being classed as overweight or obese, Veena’s story reveals the real challenges families face with balancing health, convenience and cost every day.
Veena is a busy working mum from Hounslow who faces a daily juggling act; balancing the demands of family life with three children and her job commitments. She says, “I try to cook a balanced meal every day, but I still do get processed food like nuggets or waffles because it’s much easier when I don’t have time.”
The piece represents a snapshot of modern day-to-day life in Hounslow. The Council and its partners want to use the video to raise awareness about the challenges families face and to signpost people to where they can get help in making healthier choices.
Cllr Samia Chaudhary, Hounslow Council’s Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Public Health and Transformation, said: “We are committed to creating a healthy borough, and that starts from an understanding of the different circumstances/ situations people face daily. The immediate priorities of daily life mean that for a lot of people, healthy eating and physical activity are sometimes lower down on the list. This project highlights just some of the barriers to making a healthy choice in any given setting. We need to create an environment where the healthy choice is the easy choice.”
Stuart King, MD and Head of Distraction at BeeZee Bodies says: “This project captures the essence of why families, like Veena’s, have difficulty making healthy choices. And it’s no wonder. This film will serve as an essential way for us to communicate with stakeholders in every part of public health and the community, the importance of a whole systems approach to tackling obesity. It will take collective action to create an environment where the healthy choice is the easy choice for families.”
In April, Hounslow Council partnered with a range of organisations, including BeeZee Bodies, to create the borough’s new health and wellbeing service, Healthy Hounslow.
The service provides residents of the borough with access to support for losing weight, stopping smoking, being more active, eating well and much more. Anyone who lives, works or has a GP in Hounslow can access the services provided by Healthy Hounslow.
- Find out more about Veena’s story and watch the video.
- For more information about the services available to support health and wellbeing in Hounslow, visit: healthyhounslow.co.uk
