PHYSICAL INACTIVITY
Turning the TIDE
Is ukactive’s strategy to address the UK’s high levels of inactivity on track to achieve its ambitious goals? We ask a panel of leading industry figures for their views
A
s part of efforts to prevent 37,000 needless deaths a year, ukactive is spearheading a new campaign to ‘turn
the tide of inactivity’ in the UK – with the scale of the challenge laid bare in a report of the same name. The wording is intentional: rather
than concentrating on obesity as has been the case across society in recent years, the focus is on getting people more active. Launched at the ukactive summit In November, the initiative has
got off to a strong start, with government, business and the NHS backing the scheme. There has even been an acknowledgment from Prime Minister David Cameron. If the campaign reaches its target
of reducing inactivity by 1 per cent every year for the next five years, the project could save tens of thousands of lives and save taxpayers £1.2bn – a tax reduction of £44 per household. ukactive has set a course to ensure
that a cross-party, cross-government national strategy on inactivity will be
embedded within the 2015 election manifesto of all parties. It has also called for councils to set health and wellbeing strategies where success is measured by reducing levels of inactivity rather than obesity – an important point, as a recent ukactive report showed that councils only spend 2.4 per cent of their health budgets on getting people more active. But how is the programme different
from other, similar initiatives in the past? We ask three leading industry figures for their views.
Professor Kevin Fenton National director of health and wellbeing, Public Health England
The ‘Turning the Tide of Inactivity’ report highlights the complexity and breadth of the physical inactivity challenge, which has to be a central platform of public health efforts. It’s been followed by a national cross-government commitment – through the new ‘Moving More, Living More’ campaign – to go further and faster on increasing physical activity. Physical activity is undertaken across communities in a
range of ways, from walking and cycling, through fitness, leisure and play to structured amateur and elite sport. We need to embrace and support this diversity through cross-sector collaboration. PHE is partnering with national and local organisations to reduce levels of physical inactivity and the associated health, economic and social burden on local communities. Local government can develop and lead the approach
across communities to reduce physical inactivity. Health clubs and leisure centres can be the leaders of the movement to promote active lifestyles and embed activity into daily
lives. There has to be a shared responsibility to drive the active agenda forward; I believe everyone can play their part. Public Health England is leading the development of a
National Implementation Framework for Physical Activity in England, which is drawing together evidence and case studies from across the country to help develop a tool that can truly deliver this whole system approach. People and organisations can input to the framework by emailing PhysicalActivity@
phe.gov.uk, and we will also be working with ukactive to deliver a series of regional events during May and June to engage with local stakeholders. I’m passionate about making a difference to people’s
lives by making the public healthier. ‘Turning the Tide of Inactivity’ has revealed the evidence and allowed us to understand the scale of the problem. To move forward, we need to use the case studies within the report and other examples of best practice to implement practical ways of making a difference.
66 Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital April 2014 © Cybertrek 2014
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92