HEALTH experts in the region issued a rallying cry to the North-East yesterday - with a warning that we have to change the way we live.

Dr Bill Kirkup, regional director of public health, said the provisions of the Government's Public Health White Paper, presented a major opportunity to improve health in the North-East.

"There is real potential for change here but it will need support. Improving the health of the region is not just about the NHS, it is about local authorities, businesses, the voluntary sector and communities working together to turn things around," said Dr Kirkup.

Speaking at a packed meeting of the Darlington Partnership, Dr Kirkup said smoking, physical inactivity, poor diet and excess alcohol were among the main reasons why the region had some of the worst health in the UK.

"And there are very worrying signs that obesity levels are actually going to get worse," he said.

Professor Chris Drinkwater, of Northumbria University, warned that unless people could be persuaded to change their way of life the outlook was grim.

"We need to get everybody fully engaged in this push for better health. Unless we do, in 20 years time the NHS will become unaffordable. We just won't be able to fund it because of the high demand."

He added: "Unless public health counts as much as waiting lists we are going to struggle."

Dr Nonnie Crawford, director of public health for Darlington Primary Care Trust, was blunt about the consequences of failure to change

"If we don't change what we are doing it is going to take 100 years for people in Darlington to enjoy the same health as people in the most healthy areas of the country."

More than 200 people attended the meeting at the Central Hall in Darlington's Dolphin Centre.