Dr Peter Byrne, Lead for public mental health at the Royal College of Psychiatrists said: "This is a very positive development. Physical and mental illness affects so many of us, often in combination, so it's heartening to see an emphasis being placed on prevention.
"We especially welcome the drive to reduce childhood obesity, loneliness and smoking in people with mental health problems.
"It is right to promote primary and community care, including social prescribing, alongside mental health services that are currently struggling with lack of resource.
"We agree that every child deserves the best start in life and perinatal mental services can be an important intervention in the first year of life. Genomics is advancing rapidly and is a very exciting area, we look forward to it leading to personalised treatment for mental illness.
"We expect the Green Paper to address prevention across the life course - and good mental health is essential to achieving total health."