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Recently, whilst browsing through the usual gloomy and disheartening news feeds, I came across a heart-warming story. The article introduces us to an extremely simple, yet ingenious, idea which is reportedly gaining traction around the world – ‘Happy to Chat’ benches. These are basically public benches with signs attached saying “Happy to chat bench. Sit […]
The Government has recently released its new School Sport and Activity Plan. This plan has several ambitions. Firstly, it seeks to increase physical activity participation levels so that all children and young people are doing at least 60 minutes each day in line with the Chief Medical Officer’s guidelines; secondly, it wants children and young […]
I finally succumbed recently to buying and using a wearable; one of those watches that works in concert with your mobile phone to track various measures for health and fitness (such as heart rate and step count). I must also admit to getting rather fanatical since the purchase on attaining my 10,000 steps per day […]
The World Health Organisation has identified physical inactivity as the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality. Although by no means limited to older adults, a decline in physical activity is associated with aging. There are currently 11.4 million people aged 65 or over in the UK and life expectancy is predicted to continue to […]
Everyone has a general understanding of the importance of exercise but there is often some confusion surrounding the specifics of what it means to be physically active. I have compiled the following list to help summarise the research surrounding this topic. Physical Activity- An Overview What is physical activity? Physical activity can be defined as […]
I was very interested in the recent article published in The Telegraph regarding the Education Secretary’s comments about ‘banning children’ from playing sport. You can read the article here. Nicky Morgan states that playing games and participating in sport can help to develop children’s character traits that they need to succeed in life. She accuses […]
Earlier this week, Public Health England launched their new campaign called ‘One You’, aiming to address preventable disease in adults. They state that over 40% of all deaths in England are related to people’s health behaviours and lifestyle choices, to include inactivity, poor diet, smoking, alcohol consumption, poor sleeping habits and stress. They add that […]
As a self-confessed coffee addict, I read the BBC article entitled “’Shocking’ sugar levels in High Street hot drinks, warns charity” (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-35593007 ) with some trepidation. This article highlights the exceptionally high sugar content of many drinks sold in popular High Street cafes. I must admit to being very shocked at the claim that 98% […]
In our modern world, we have a multiplicity of technological gadgets, gizmos, and labour-saving devices; we no longer have to go outside and hunt for or grow our food (we can get it now without even leaving the house). As a result, many of us now spend a significant amount of our time sitting down […]
Do you know the UK’s national guidelines on the amount and type of physical activity we should all be aiming to achieve? As fitness professionals we should be able to recount these verbatim – they tell us what we should be targeting with our clients and participants, and what advice and support we could possibly […]
