In January, the streets are traditionally covered in ice, snow and joggers. Born-again fitness fanatics are as seasonal as morning frost - and just as fleeting.

Outbreaks of good intentions rarely last long into the New Year. Many of us resolve to get fit after the over-indulgence of Christmas.

But after a few weeks the tracksuit is confined to the back of the wardrobe and forgotten. Fruit is again replaced by biscuits at elevenses.

North Yorkshire Health Authority faces such problems with its Health Improvement Programme. Billed as a radical new approach, the initiative is launched while the public appetite for healthier living is at its height.

So the real test for the programme will be twofold. Firstly, whether it can improve the health of the county's population. Secondly, if it can sustain that improvement.

The initiative is nonetheless welcome. At a time when the National Health Service is crippled by something as prosaic as flu, there is much to be said for any project that promotes preventive medicine.

If we were fitter, we would be better equipped to fight off germs. But the Health Improvement Programme aims to do a lot more than encourage a healthier lifestyle. It looks to tackle six specific areas, including heart health, cancer and accidents.

In each category, data will be collected from patients' records and appraised. That will allow health staff to draw up a strategy to reduce the level of sickness or injury.

Agencies from the NHS Trusts to the fire brigade have been brought together under the Health Improvement Programme umbrella.

Everything from improving road safety to reducing the death rate from suicides is being considered. The ambition of the project should not be doubted.

North Yorkshire cannot be made healthier overnight, however. To be truly successful, the programme has to reach the poorest people in the county. Poverty and ill health go hand in hand. Encouraging those on the breadline to adopt a healthier lifestyle is easier said than done.

The health authority should learn from previous mistakes. It must avoid using a hectoring or patronising tone. Good health can never be imposed on people.

The Health Improvement Programme has emerged from what now sounds like an ironically titled Government White Paper - The New NHS: Modern, Dependable.

If this scheme does not founder soon after its launch, like so many well-intentioned New Year pledges, then it could ease the burden on the health service. That is one resolution worth following through.

see NEWS 'Targeting your health'

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.