Residents have been asked to give their verdicts on fitness-friendly plans to help make Bermuda a healthier place.

Health Minister Patrice Minors said promotion of healthier lifestyles is an ?essential ingredient? in tackling health time bombs that ?threaten the wellbeing of Bermuda?s community and economy?.

Poor diets, lack of exercise and smoking all play major roles in the rise of obesity, heart problems and diabetes.

Now the public has been invited to give feedback on the consultation draft of ?Well Bermuda: A National Health Promotion Strategy?, released on Tuesday by the Ministry of Health. The Minister said the strategy aims to create a ?joint vision? for health promotion across public and private health bodies on the Island.

Mrs. Minors added: ?New health concerns such as chronic non-communicable diseases are strongly related to lifestyle factors such as poor diet, physical inactivity and smoking.

?Tackling these problems and preventing the further deterioration of our community?s health requires new ways of thinking and working ? and health promotion is an essential ingredient.?

She continued: ?These new public health problems threaten the wellbeing of Bermuda?s community and economy, as a healthy population is fundamental to ensure a capable workforce and future capacity. ?The promotion of health, therefore, is fundamental to Bermuda?s prosperity.?

She said that the large amount of health promotion work that had already taken place in the community had significantly helped improve health levels in Bermuda. The strategy now aims to provide a common set of goals and a ?shared vision for a healthier Bermuda?.

Information in the draft includes statistics dating back to 1999, although officials said that the final strategy would include the 2006 health survey findings and 2005 death statistics.

The draft is split into three themes: healthy people, healthy families and healthy communities.

The report states the Island currently enjoys relatively good health status. However, recent trends indicate worsening of the population?s health. ?This must be halted,? warns the report. Past research has shown the Island?s most pressing health issues are excess weight and obesity ? classed as Bermuda?s number one health headache ? followed by heart disease, respiratory diseases and then diabetes. The last published health survey, in 1999, found a third of adults in Bermuda were obese; a further 24 percent were overweight. Figures for teens were ?equally alarming?, the report states, with a quarter of youngsters aged 11 to 17 overweight.

Health officials will be keeping a close eye on the latest batch of statistics, with a warning already sounding on teen weight problems. The report states: ?It has been estimated that if the rate of increase in childhood obesity is not halted soon, this generation of children could be the first to have a life expectancy shorter than their parents.? Elsewhere, the draft warns about the spiralling cost of obesity-related healthcare costs and says it is ?paramount? the rise in overweight and obese residents be halted ?as a matter of urgency?.

Other targets listed include cutting the number of adults with high blood pressure, reducing the overall rate of diabetes, increasing diagnosis of chronic kidney disease while cutting numbers of adults who engage in high-risk sexual behaviour. No specific target levels are listed in the draft report.

Copies of the blueprint can be obtained from Health Promotion Office or from www.gov.bm at the Health and Family Services section. The consultation deadline is November 3.