A healthier Leicestershire is one of our aims and we have a wide range of services that will help you to keep in good health. See our Sustainable Community Strategy for more details of our aims.

Volunteering is widely known as having a positive effect on the health and general wellbeing of people who become involved. There is a clear link between volunteering and good health. It can have a number of associated benefits including improving self esteem, reducing the number of hospital visits, helping with depression, stress and pain.

It can also improve mental health as people who volunteer feel better physically, happier through making friends and having contact with other people. In some cases people can lose weight through increased physical activity.

See our Volunteering pages to find out how you can get involved!

Libraries offer a wide range of free books and information on healthy living and on general and specific health issues. Ask at your local library or search the library catalogue.Link

The Online Reference Library gives access to a range of health related reference titles including Which? Medicine, Oxford Companion to Medicine and Oxford Concise Medical Dictionary. We pay for the subscription so you don't have to!

Use Library Services’ internet links for easy access to a range to health-related websites or visit a library and use one of our free public computers.

Find out more about how you could change to a healthier lifestyle with our focus on Healthy Living promotions.

Just reading a good book can sometimes make you feel good! Join your library today!

Also see: Community Health and Wellbeing in your library

Leicestershire County Council runs 6 museums and supports around 40 more voluntary run sites.

Museums offer a wide range of positive activity to all members of our communities encouraging both physical and mental activity through learning, discovering and doing. Museums support emotional well-being by helping people understand the world they live in (or just their small part of it) and offering people a space to contemplate and reflect on their lives and those of others

See Museums to find out what's happening in Museums across the County.

Also see more information on a variety of Wellbeing Projects from the Open Museum.

Whether you’re looking for gentle exercise or something more energetic, why not explore and enjoy Leicestershire’s Countryside?

There are routes for pushchairs, buggies and wheelchairs particularly on our Country Parks, plus parish walks, heritage trails, local walking routes and longer walking routes.

There are also places to go for orienteering, climbing and cross country runs. There are so many places to cycle off and on road and many routes for horse riding. You might also consider taking part in the Stepping Stones Challenge and walk 40,000 steps to better health.

Look on our webpages for details of free leaflets. To request copies or ask for more information see our Contact page.

Why not get out and about and take part in the many events and activities taking place in Leicestershire. The majority of our events are free!

For more details see our Events Guide. Pick up a copy at our museums, libraries and some country parks or you can subscribe to receive regular copies, or you can search the What's On page online.
      
      

Good health depends on a nutritious diet. Food labelling laws are there to make sure you have all the information you need to make healthy choices.

Trading Standards and the Public Analyst Service (Scientific Services) checks for compliance with legal requirements particularly descriptions and claims such as ‘low salt’ or ‘high in fibre’. In addition, recent sampling and analysis projects have looked at salt, sugar and fat in children's food, and in take-away meals. Amongst many other projects are the checking of nitrate levels (from fertiliser) in lettuces, and the amount of artificial colouring in Diwali sweets.

We also inspect premises and take food samples to ensure that food is correctly labelled and meets minimum legal requirements. Food labels can provide a wealth of useful information, and as well as making sure the labels are legal and accurate, the Trading Standards Food Team has run a number of campaigns to help ordinary shoppers understand the information on the label.

We have also played a full part in national campaigns to reduce the amount of salt in the typical diet, and helped to get potentially unfit foods containing illegal Sudan I dye off the shelves. The Food Team also run a number of promotional campaigns to help ordinary shoppers understand information on the labels. We also work with the School Food Support Service to help them devise healthy, nutritious school dinners.

It is a well known fact that smoking and alcohol abuse can seriously damage your health. It is particularly harmful with young people. Restricting access by young people to tobacco and alcohol products helps to tackle the problem. The law is clear: young people under the age of 18 should not be sold these products.

It is Trading Standards responsibility to ensure that the County’s retailers comply with the law. Advice and guidance is provided to businesses to help them fulfill their legal responsibilities. In appropriate circumstances however, cases are brought before the criminal courts.

We regularly run educational campaigns for young people and their parentsto provide advice and guidance about underage sales.

There are similar concerns, legal restrictions and activity related to the dangers of solvent abuse and the sale of butane lighter refill canisters where we also have a role of providing advice, guidance, carrying out inspection and prosecution.

Leicestershire are currently working with local Primary Care Trusts and health workers to produce a strategy for tackling childhood obesity, see the Local Area Agreement for more information.

Every year in England around 39,000 teenagers become pregnant, this includes nearly 8,000 who are under 16. Britain has the highest rates of teenage pregnancy in Western Europe. Find out what Leicestershire are doing by visiting the new Teenage Pregnacy website.

Leicestershire County Council provides social care and support for people. We also have a legal duty to protect people, including children and young people from harm, neglect or abuse. People may need social care or support during a crisis, because of their age, long term ill health or disability, or because they are caring for others. See Adult Social Care or Children's Social Care for more information.

Check out these other links for more information on how Leicestershire County Council is supporting your good health.