Let’s get physical - health chiefs out to make exercise "the obvious choice"

Giving an update on the “strategic positioning of physical activity” to the council’s health and wellbeing board meeting at Rotherham Town Hall, public health specialist Gilly Brenner said one in three people in the borough was considered to be inactive — doing less than 30 minutes a week.

The national figure for England is one in four.

She said activity had a positive impact on health, cutting heart disease by 35 per cent, hip fractures by 68 per cent, and depression by a fifth.

“Inequalities is a big issue here as well,” she said. “We have a lot of people with a lot to gain so we have got to increase those opportunities to provide people with more reason to be active.

“People with long-term conditions have even more to gain from being more active.”

Ms Brenner said the borough was “building on the good work of the Women’s Euros”, while another NHS Big Conversation was also planned for November after the success of July’s event.

Representatives of 70 organisations, including the voluntary sector, attended and signed up to one of the council’s physical activity “priorities”, which include employers supporting workforces to be active, and strengthening social prescribing.

“It is about how we make that big step change where physical activity is everyone’s business,” added Ms Brenner.

“Make it part of our everyday lives and you will soon see the change.

“We need to embed it so it starts to become the obvious choice and therefore it’s not difficult to make that choice.”