HEADLINES

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Healthy Weight - Healthy Lives: July 2008
In England two-thirds of adults and one-third of children are now overweight or obese. The cost to the Health Service is estimated at £16m a year. The  Government has recognised that the obesity crisis is as important as climate change in terms of its potential impact on our day to day lives and have announced a cross-Government strategy ‘Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives’. It has also produced a Toolkit for Developing Local Strategies which highlights the importance of having walking policies to help combat obesity (p.39)

Although nutrition is often blamed for the nation’s weight gain, we know from research that this is only part of the problem: physical inactivity is equally to blame. As activity has been engineered out of our lives by technologies like escalators and motorised transport, we need to make a conscious effort to replace the incidental activity that used to be an integral part of previous generations’ lives.

By investing in what it names as a ‘Walking into Health’ campaign, the Government aims to get a third of England walking at least 1,000 more steps daily by 2012 – an extra 15 billion steps a day. Walk England is keen to help the Government reach this target. Please  watch this space closely for regular updates on how those 15 billion steps might get trod. 

A good review of the Obesity epidemic can be found here on the BBC website.

Recent research, published in the Daily Mail on 26th March 08 from the Universities of Nottingham and Washington has identified growing obesity in older women which is leading to a greater risk of falls and other injuries.

Strong muscles cut the risk of falls and fractures so it is vital for women to take exercise as they age. The research suggests that women find it harder than men to keep in shape as they get older. They tend to have less muscle so their balance is not as good and they are at more risk of falling.


Financial Incentives Report: December 2007
Controversially a new report by the King’s Fund discusses financial incentives in the context of behavioural change – should we be paying people to walk more and would it help, in the long run, to save the Health Service money?  

If you have views on this why not join one of our Forums or get in touch if you have spotted a more recent report that you think we should add here to keep the debate alive.