Get everybody active every day
PHE has co-produced 'Everybody active, every day', an evidence-based approach to improve the nation's health through everyday activity.
Public Health England (PHE) today (23 October 2014) published, ‘Everybody active, every day’, a framework for national and local action to address the national physical inactivity epidemic, responsible for 1 in 6 deaths and costing the country an estimated £7.4 billion a year.
To facilitate cross-sector collaboration, PHE has co-produced the framework with over 1,000 national and local leaders in physical activity and is calling for action from providers and commissioners in: health, social care, transportation, planning, education, sport and leisure, culture, the voluntary and community sector, as well as public and private employers.
To make active lifestyles a reality for all, the framework’s 4 areas for action will:
- change the social ‘norm’ to make physical activity the expectation
- develop expertise and leadership within professionals and volunteers
- create environments to support active lives
- identify and up-scale successful programmes nationwide (see notes to editors)
‘Everybody active, every day’ is being launched on 23 October 2014 at the Kia Oval where Jane Ellison MP, Minister for Public Health will join Duncan Selbie, Chief Executive at PHE, with participation from Lord Coe and Jennie Price, Chief Executive at Sport England. Sport England will be launching round 2 of its Get Healthy Get Active, a £5m investment in tackling inactivity at the event.
Public Health Minister, Jane Ellison said:
Whatever age you are, physical activity is vital for maintaining good health, quality of life and independence: for young people, it is vital to get into healthy habits for life.
Increasing physical activity is a priority right across Government; for example, the Department of Health is already supporting local authorities by investing £8.2 billion over 3 years to target public health priorities in their areas. Today’s launch will help make sure that physical activity is at the heart of that and we are giving people the best possible information about what works well.
Professor Kevin Fenton, Executive Director of Health and Wellbeing at Public Health England, said:
Physical inactivity is unrecognised as a significant health, social and economic burden on individuals and communities in England. It is the fourth greatest cause of ill health in the UK, and a leading contributor to rising levels of many long-term conditions, such as obesity, diabetes and dementia. Our modern lifestyles amplify the problem, with even those who are already taking regular physical activity at risk of damaging their health by spending long periods sitting down.
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.
Jennie Price, Chief Executive at Sport England, said:
We are delighted to be working alongside Public Health England to help drive a step change in activity levels. Our role is to get more people to play sport and exercise regularly, which can make a big contribution to tackling inactivity and improving health and wellbeing.
Today we are making £5 million of additional National Lottery funding available for projects that will focus on the least active, as this is where we can make most impact by reducing health inequalities and producing the greatest potential health benefit.
Isabelle Clement, Director of Wheels for Wellbeing, said:
Public Health England’s framework is all the more relevant for disabled people who are some of the people least likely to exercise. At Wheels for Wellbeing, whatever age you are and regardless of impairment, everyone can cycle. The right equipment, support and accessibility are key to achieving this.
Ends
Notes to editors
About Public Health England: Public Health England exists to protect and improve the nation’s health and wellbeing, and reduce health inequalities. It does this through advocacy, partnerships, world-class science, knowledge and intelligence, and the delivery of specialist public health services. PHE is an operationally autonomous executive agency of the Department of Health.
The ‘Everybody active, every day’ framework is the first consolidation of national and local priorities, including the ‘Moving More, Living More’ cross government commitment for a more active nation as part of the legacy from the 2012 Games, and the NICE physical activity guidance. The framework will be launched alongside: a supporting ‘Implementation and Evidence’ guide, topic overviews of inequality areas, a toolkit for Members of Parliament, a briefing for healthcare professionals and 9 free BMJ e-learning modules on physical activity.
PHE has already held 6 regional events and 9 topic round tables with over 1,000 stakeholders to co-produce ‘Everybody active, every day’ and we will continue to engage with leading physical activity professionals in this format. The next round of forums to support implementation is planned for early 2015– for further information please contact physicalactivity@phe.gov.uk
About Sport England: Sport England is focused on helping people and communities across the country create a sporting habit for life. We will invest over £1 billion of National Lottery and Exchequer funding between 2012 and 2017 in organisations and projects that will:
- help more people have a sporting habit for life
- create more opportunities for young people to play sport
- nurture and develop talent
- provide the right facilities in the right places
- support local authorities and unlock local funding
- ensure real opportunities for communities
The National Lottery has been changing lives for 18 years. Every week National Lottery players raise over £30 million to help change people’s lives across the UK.
Wheels for Wellbeing promote cycling to people of all ages and disabilities in Lambeth, Southwark, Lewisham and Croydon. They are part of the Pan-London Cycling for All network.