A giant milkshake has arrived in Bolton town centre as part of the ‘Big Shake Up’ campaign to tackle childhood obesity in the borough.

The huge installation was spotted on Knowsley Street this morning (December 19) as part of an NHS campaign to raise awareness on a new initiative to uncover the real truth behind childhood obesity across the city’s boroughs.

The slogan on the milkshake says, ‘It’s time for a big shake up’, with information on the back highlighting the record high when it comes to childhood obesity across the region.

Cllr Linda Thomas, Bolton Council’s Executive Member for Health and Wellbeing said: “Children being overweight can lead them to develop severe health conditions and we all need to work together to tackle this issue.

“Collecting the views of people across Bolton and Greater Manchester will help us to get a real understanding from residents on the challenges they face and what they think is behind the rise so that our we can create plans and local environments that better support health and wellbeing.

“Everyone’s views matter so please help by completing the survey at https://therealpicture.org/ .”

The Bolton News: Ann Marie Taylor, Public Health Practitioner, in Bolton

Research has shown that 39 per cent of children will become overweight or obese by the time they reach Year 6 in Greater Manchester.

It comes as childhood obesity rates in Bolton have worsened following the coronavirus pandemic, figures show.

The milkshake is part of a wider campaign of activity to encourage participation in the survey, with residents across Greater Manchester also receiving a ‘fake’ takeaway menu through their doors over the next couple of weeks, suggesting some more of the key reasons why children in Greater Manchester could be at risk of becoming overweight or obese. 

Residents who spot the milkshake will be encouraged to share their views via the survey which can be completed anonymously and takes approximately five minutes to fill out.

There will be stewards with the survey available to complete on iPads and to answer any questions.

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