A new strategy designed to improve the health of residents in New York City, US, has been announced by city mayor Michael Bloomberg and health commissioner Thomas Farley.

Take Care New York 2012 outlines a new set of measures designed to target the 10 leading causes of preventable illnesses, which could see the city's existing Smoke-Free Air Act expanded to incorporate parks and public beaches. The strategy also sets out plans to increase the number of people participating in physical activity in schools, workplaces and community locations by widening the health department's existing initiatives in partnership with the Department of Parks and Recreation.

It is hoped that the strategy will help to tackle a significant increase in obesity and associated problems, with 57 per cent of New York City's adults and 39 per cent of children currently regarded as overweight or obese. Bloomberg said: "The entire nation is focused on the health care debate in Washington right now, and one positive thing to come out of it so far is the attention it's brought to prevention and the importance of high-quality primary care."

"The single best measure of our overall success is that between 2001 and 2006 life expectancy for New Yorkers increased by 50 percent more than it did in the US as a whole. We've made some impressive progress over the past four years, but there's a lot more to do, so we're setting even more ambitious goals for the next four years."