ISEH Development Director Matt James recently attended the launch of Everybody Active Every Day, a new evidence-based physical activity strategy from Public Health England. Inactivity is an increasing challenge for the UK – two thirds of men and nearly half of women do not exercise enough. Among children, while boys are more active than girls, in both cases the majority do not exercise enough; and activity rates in children decrease as they get older.
These are long-term trends, driven by technology, culture and urban design. For example, we are on average walking less than previous generations – a 30 per cent decrease from 1995 to 2013. Inactivity also contributes to health inequality: while only around a quarter of boys and a third of girls from the most well-off economic groups are classed as ‘inactive’, almost half of both boys and girls from the least well-off groups are inactive.
The results are potentially catastrophic. Obesity and lack of exercise are leading to more, and more severe, illness; and to worse prospects for recovery from existing illness. On average, one in six people will die from causes attributable to inactivity, a similar death rate to that associated with smoking. Evidence shows that regular physical activity also helps prevent and alleviate mental illness, and supports intellectual development.
The link between obesity and rising healthcare costs is a key theme of NHS England’s Five-Year Forward View. With some predicting that the NHS could face a funding shortfall of £30bn by 2022, the health service is clearly under considerable financial pressure from avoidable illness caused by inactivity; Public Health England cites evidence that it costs the UK economy £7.4bn a year, £0.9bn of which is in direct costs to the NHS. In response, the Forward View calls for a ‘radical upgrade in prevention and public health’ and for measures to ‘incentivise and support healthier behaviour’.
- The new Public Health England strategy aims to support making active lifestyles a reality. The strategy’s action points are designed to:
- change the social norm to make physical activity the expectation
- develop expertise and leadership within professionals and volunteers
- create physical environments that support active lives
- ‘scale up’ successful local programmes.
According to Professor Kevin Fenton, Executive Director of Health and Wellbeing at Public Health England “Physical inactivity is the fourth greatest cause of ill health in the UK, and a leading contributor to the rising levels of many long-term conditions. There is something simple we can do about it: get everybody active every day. We need to make physical activity the easy, accessible and natural choice for everyone. If we get it right, the benefits will be shared by future generations – leading to an increase in everyone’s chances of living a healthy, independent and fulfilling life.”
The ISEH's work is designed to benefit the whole population, from those at risk of ill health through sedentary lifestyles through to elite athletes. One strand of our work programme focuses on understanding of how treatments developed for elite athletes can be built on to benefit public health. Working with UCL, we have established a number of projects to understand the broader, long-term impacts of exercise and activity. The ISEH is also currently working closely with UCL's Physical Activity Research Group (PARG), and with Camden Council on the Camden Active Spaces Project.
ISEH Development Director Matt James commented: “As an Olympic legacy initiative, established to improve health through treatment, research and education, we welcome this new strategy from Public Health England. It sets out how communities and health professionals can do much to encourage healthier lifestyles. We look forward to working with Public Health England and other partners to help make the vision of a more active Britain a reality.”
Dr Justin Varney, National Lead for Adult Health and Wellbeing at Public Health England, said: “Working with partners like the ISEH is invaluable. It helps develop the much-needed connection between sport and exercise medicine specialists, and the wider workforce of health professionals. From here, we can work to increase understanding about the value of physical activity and integrate it into everyday healthcare, to improve the care and advice people receive.”