Well-being in England: Making a BIG difference
Under our Well-being programme we have invested £160 million across England between 2006 and 2012 to improve the health and well-being of people who live in deprived areas and have poor mental and physical health.
For the first time standardised measures of well-being are building a picture of levels of well-being across England across three key areas: mental health, physical activity and healthy eating.
Our evaluation has developed our understanding of how well-being in these areas can be improved. The second year of our five-year evaluation is now complete and already there are exciting findings to learn from and share with grant holders and policy makers.
What difference has this investment made so far?
Reductions in significant depressive symptoms
10% fewer people aged over 65 reported significant depressive symptoms and 5% fewer adults (16 – 64 year olds) felt this way after participating in well-being projects.
Life satisfaction is up
There has been a significant increase in life satisfaction scores among participants and volunteers, from 6.3 to 6.8 on a 10-point scale.
People are on the move
The number of people doing more regular and more varied physical exercise has increased. Many of them have said they are enjoying it more too.
Healthier diets, better food choices
There has been a 14 per cent increase in vegetable consumption, and the percentage of people who don’t feel confident about eating healthily fell from 21 per cent to 7 per cent.
Improved social well-being, especially for volunteers
Project volunteers, particularly older ones, have reported how important their work is for their own mental and social well-being.
Well-being evaluation reports
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