Politics Home Article | Prioritising prevention: a proactive approach to health and wellbeing

Regular exercise, healthy eating, quality sleep and effective stress management are the foundations of long-term good health.

But while most of us recognise this, our good intentions don’t always translate into actions.

New research carried out by Ipsos for Holland & Barrett, the UK’s leading health and wellness company, shows that the UK has a “reactive repair” health culture – where treatment is prioritised over prevention. Despite widespread awareness of the benefits of establishing good health and wellbeing habits, most of us only engage with our health when something goes wrong.

Holland & Barrett’s report, From Reactive Repair to Proactive Maintenance: The State of the Nation’s Attitudes to Health 2026, reveals that 78% of the public only visit the doctor when “absolutely necessary”. Although there is strong evidence for the benefits of physical activity and good nutrition, only half (50%) say they proactively manage their health and wellbeing.

However, the report says that the intention to change is definitely there – 59% of those questioned plan to focus on their health and wellbeing in the coming year while 53% say they have taken vitamins and supplements in the last 12 months as a preventative approach to their health and wellbeing.

Even so, the barrier to taking proactive steps to improving our health is not down to awareness alone. Poor sleep, low energy, time pressures, cost, uncertainty about where to start and regional differences in access to healthcare deter us from acting sooner rather than later.

“The implementation gap captures the disconnect between prevention in principle and prevention in practice,” says the report. “Delivering the prevention agenda at scale cannot rest solely within formal clinical settings. It requires a whole-system approach that includes trusted, non-clinical touchpoints where people can seek advice.

“Many individuals experience low-level symptoms, uncertainty or minor concerns long before they present to the NHS. Reaching people at this earlier stage – when issues are still manageable and behavioural change is possible – is essential to preventing escalation and reducing cumulative pressure across the health system.”

MPs have welcomed Holland & Barrett’s focus on establishing good health and wellbeing habits.

“As part of our 10 Year Health Plan, the government is shifting the focus of health care in this country from reacting and treating illness to preventing it in the first place,” says Health Minister Zubir Ahmed, who was a transplant and vascular surgeon before entering politics and has continued to practise.

“That means spotting conditions earlier and tackling the biggest causes of disease, which will help people to stay well for longer and reduce pressure on our NHS.

“We’re already rolling out more health checks, expanding mental health support, tackling junk food advertising and creating the first smoke‑free generation. Transforming the nation’s health will take a truly whole-of-society approach, so it’s good to see businesses like Holland & Barrett supporting that mission.”

Stuart Andrew, Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, wants to see a stronger emphasis on early intervention and helping people to take control of their health earlier.

“These findings expose a simple truth,” he says. “Our health system is too often reactive. That must change if we are serious about improving both quality of life and long-term outcomes.

“Prevention must be made practical and accessible. Too many people face barriers like confusion or lack of clear support and that is where the gap between intention and action persists.

“We need a stronger focus on early intervention, with the NHS working alongside trusted partners in the wider health ecosystem to help people take control of their health earlier and more easily.”

Meanwhile Helen Maguire, the Liberal Democrats’ Spokesperson for Primary Care and Cancer, says: “Britain is living longer but sicker, and this report lays bare why. We have a system built on reactive repair rather than genuine prevention. As someone who has seen first-hand the transformative power of movement and early action on health, I know the NHS cannot and should not have to close this gap alone. Prevention and primary care must be symbiotic, and that means meeting people in their communities, well before they reach the GP’s door.”

Dr Simon Opher, Chair of the Health All-Party Parliamentary Group, spent 30 years as a GP before becoming an MP and also believes that investing in early support and prevention is vital.

“The NHS is probably more accurately described as a national illness service,” he says. “Although each successive government flags prevention very few changes are made.

“I am working to produce a national strategy for the prevention of mental health with the Department of Health and Social Care. Looking at evidence, it is now clear, for example, that the Sure Start work the last Labour government introduced, which was scrapped in 2012, was incredibly effective at reducing and preventing health inequalities and improving child mental health. But this is proven 15 years after it was scrapped.

“We need to do what we know will work and make sure that we resource upstream left shift work to reduce demand on the NHS. This work simply can’t wait. Otherwise, our illness service will keel over completely because of the workload.”

The Holland & Barrett report cites a number of experts in the field of nutrition and behaviour change, all of whom back the need to shift the NHS’s focus from treating sickness to preventing ill health. 

“We have successfully engineered longevity – keeping people alive for longer – but we have failed to engineer vitality,” says Professor John Deanfield, Professor of Cardiology at University College London. “The current model is effectively ‘disease care’, intervening only when pathology is acute, rather than ‘health care’, which addresses root causes decades before symptoms manifest.”

Professor Anne-Marie Minihane, Professor of Nutrigenetics and Head of Nutrition and Preventive Medicine at the University of East Anglia’s Norwich Medical School, points out that the challenge isn’t just what to recommend – but how to make it achievable and relevant.

“Health messaging often assumes infinite time, resources and energy, but these are luxuries most don’t have,” she says. “We need quick, affordable solutions that acknowledge reality – practical swaps for budget-conscious families and simple changes that don’t require complete lifestyle overhauls, with appropriate use of select good quality supplements having a role to play in groups such as time-poor professionals and those with reduced appetite or other dietary restrictions.”

With advice like this in mind, Holland & Barrett has launched Back Your Body, a national campaign to encourage people to take a more proactive approach to their health and wellbeing.  

The campaign is a response to a broader challenge facing the UK population. People are living longer but many are spending those extra years in poor health, with preventative action often delayed until problems arise.

Back Your Body aims to change this mindset by helping people to understand their bodies much earlier, prioritise their health and wellbeing and avoid illness. It recommends a combination of retail initiatives, including wellness check-ins, trained advisers and science-led interventions on the high street.

For example, Holland & Barrett, which has more than 150 years of expertise in this area, offers free and easy access to qualified Wellness Champions who have completed more than 500,000 hours of UK-accredited wellness training. They are available to advise people online or in person on issues such as sleep, energy, stress, anxiety and joint, bone or muscle problems.

Recognising that women have specific needs, the company supports the Women’s Health Strategy, a 10-year government plan to improve the health and healthcare experiences of women and girls in England. Holland & Barrett has more than 600 trained women’s health coaches who offer free, confidential and personalised support for women on a variety of issues, including menopause, menstrual health and hormone health.

Holland & Barrett firmly believes that closing the prevention gap in this way will require health and wellness retailers to be recognised as a vital part of the wider healthcare value chain.

“As a business committed to science-led wellness, we believe accessible, credible support matters most,” says Dr Abbie Cawood, Science Director at Holland & Barrett.

“Prevention cannot rely solely on traditional healthcare settings. People need practical advice, trusted guidance and simple interventions, available when and where they’re most ready to act.

“The opportunity now is to close the implementation gap, the space between wanting to be healthier and knowing how to take the next step. Our call to action is for policymakers, healthcare leaders and trusted community partners to work together to make preventative health visible, actionable and available to everyone.”

Read the report: From Reactive Repair to Proactive Maintenance: The State of the Nation’s Attitudes to Health 2026