Your weekly physical activity bulletin

11 March 2025

We are working towards improving the health and wellbeing of the nation through sport, exercise and physical activity. For more information on our work visit our website or follow us on X @NCSEM_PAnews

Veterans’ Resilience Programme

The programme, funded by the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust, is designed for all UK military veterans suffering from mental health and wellbeing issues.

Utilising Loughborough University's world-class staff and facilities, participants take part in a range of activities, led by experts in developing resilience and enhancing health and wellbeing. Expertise includes nutrition, improving sleep quality, social resilience, and physical activity. At the end of the course participants will have a plan of action to help sustain the improvements they have made, including an opportunity to attend a follow-up meeting with other programme participants.

The next course dates are 5 and 6 April, applications are now open.

Emily Campbell launches Make Britain Stronger campaign in bid to raise awareness of Chief Medical Officer’s strength guidelines

Team GB Olympic weightlifter Emily Campbell has issued a rallying cry to Make Britain Stronger as she announces a three-step plan to support a healthier nation through the benefits of strength training.

Speaking on Sky News Breakfast alongside ukactive CEO Huw Edwards, Emily announced her ambition to help millions more people meet the Chief Medical Officer’s strength guidelines.

The CMO recommends all adults undertake some form of strength exercises two days each week to develop or maintain strength in the major muscle groups – from heavy gardening and carrying heavy shopping, to resistance exercise and gym.

Study Maps England’s 34,000 Playgrounds, Revealing Stark Inequalities

A recent study, To Play or Not to Play: Mapping Unequal Provision of Children’s Playgrounds, conducted by the University of Sheffield has unveiled significant disparities in the availability of children's playgrounds across England. With nearly 34,000 playgrounds mapped across the country, this comprehensive research provides the most detailed picture of playground provision to date.

The findings highlight stark inequalities in access to play spaces and propose a framework to address them, aligning with Play England's ongoing advocacy for Play Sufficiency legislation and a new National Play Strategy.

How we can support women in the workforce

Recently, CIMSPA have talked about how women are struggling to participate in sport and physical activity as much as they need in order to live healthy lives. An important part of combatting this challenge is having relatable role models within the sector workforce to support women in having a positive experience when exercising. The only problem is, there is still a persistent lack of women working in the sport and physical activity sector.

CIMSPA workforce insight reports have consistently shown that women are less likely to work in sport and physical activity than men, with data from 2023 showing that across all sector professions, 44% of workers are female. More recent data from UK Coaching shows an even starker disparity, with the proportion of female coaches at 38% in 2024. As the global population is 51% female, this shows that we still have a way to go to ensure that women have equal access to career opportunities in the sport and physical activity sector.

The weekly physical activity bulletin in a summary of news stories that appear across the physical activity sector. The National Centre for Sport and Exercise Medicine is not responsible for the content of external sites.

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