No images? Click here Your weekly physical activity bulletin04 May 2022 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 Twitter @NCSEM_PAnews Activity levels see partial recovery from Covid-19Activity levels are starting to recover following large drops caused by coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic restrictions, the latest Active Lives Adult Survey report shows. Covering the period between November 2020 and November 2021, the results show that while activity levels obviously dropped because of restrictions designed to stop the spread of the virus, they then stabilised and are now starting to recover. Between November 2020 and November 2021, 61.4% of the population were active, and 27.2% were inactive. The recovery started in mid-March 2021 when there was a rise of 3% to 61.2% of the population getting active (between mid-March – mid-May), compared to just 58.2% 12 months earlier. Healthier lifestyle can help to ease osteoarthritis symptoms says NICEExercise has a significant role to play in helping people living with osteoarthritis, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) says in draft updated guidelines. Clinical evidence shows that when people with osteoarthritis are offered tailored exercises, such as muscle strengthening and aerobic exercise, they can achieve good health outcomes. Healthcare professionals should support people with osteoarthritis and who are overweight by helping them choose a weight loss goal to help manage symptoms. Losing weight can have a significant impact on health outcomes for a range of conditions, but it can also help to reduce joint pain for people with osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is caused by changes in the whole joint that can cause discomfort and pain. It is the most common form of arthritis, and one of the leading causes of pain and disability worldwide. Over a fifth of people in the UK never walk for exerciseOver a fifth (22%) of the UK population never walk for exercise or leisure at all – and nearly half of people (46%) never walk to or from work, according to new research for National Walking Month. A survey commissioned by Living Streets, the UK charity for everyday walking, shows that Glasgow is the top city in the UK for walking, with the highest proportion of people (86%) saying they sometimes walk purely for leisure or exercise. However, Nottingham is the city with the lowest proportion of people (68%) who ever head out to get some exercise by walking. National Walking Month, which is organised by Living Streets every May, is this year encouraging everyone to #Try20, and walk for 20 minutes each day. Walking is an easy and accessible way to improve physical and mental health. A 20-minute walk can reduce the risk of preventable health conditions including certain cancers, depression, heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. Adult tier two weight management services: short statistical commentary April 2022In March 2021, the Government announced an additional £100 million of funding over the 2021 to 2022 fiscal year to support people living with excess weight and obesity to lose weight and maintain healthier lifestyles. £30.5 million of this new funding was allocated to local authorities in England to support the expansion of adult tier two behavioural weight management services, part of a place-based whole systems approach to tackling obesity and promoting a healthier weight. Main findings show that 25,825 participants were referred to adult tier two weight management services in quarters 1 to 3 of 2021 to 2022. 15,290 of these participants enrolled on services, with 2,625 completing their programme. When broken down by quarters 1 to 3, referrals and enrolments have increased with each quarter throughout the year, with 2,210 participants referred and 1,610 enrolled in quarter one through to 15,760 referred and 8,045 enrolled in quarter 3. Image © World Obesity A different way of funding grassroots sportSport Wales is offering a very different fund to anything offered previously in Wales through its 'A Place for Sport' fund. The fund requires clubs to raise at least half of the money themselves by crowdfunding via the Crowdfunder website. Sport Wales offers up to £15k to support community clubs and organisations’ own fundraising efforts to make off-field facility improvements. Among the clubs who embraced the opportunity are the Ponthir Sports and Community Club in Newport. The club set up crowdfunding to raise funds to pay Western Power to bury overhead cables which blighted a large area of their sportsground, so that more sport can be played there. In Flintshire, funding is being used to remove poisonous blue green algae from the ‘Park in the Past’ beauty spot to make a lake suitable all-year round for swimming, kayaking, and diving. A 30-minute online webinar is being held on Tuesday 10 May from 12pm – 12:30pm to help clubs learn more about Crowdfunding and how to access Sport Wales funding. Energy price rises pose ‘clear and present threat’ to swimming pools, MPs warnedThe huge increases in energy prices pose a ‘clear and present threat’ to swimming pools without urgent government support. That is the warning to MPs from Swim England, swimming pool owners and operators, and others at a meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Swimming. The sector is united in calling for the Government to collaborate with them to deliver the support needed to ensure swimming pools can continue to provide their services at an affordable cost for users, particularly those from lower socio-economic groups. However, they stressed that none of these measures could resolve the acute difficulties immediately facing swimming pools. IBSA World Games 2023 are on the way to BirminghamThe countdown to the 2023 International Blind Sport Federation (IBSA) World Games, a multi-sport event for blind and partially sighted athletes, has officially begun in Birmingham, ahead of next summer’s event. The launch took place at The University of Birmingham’s iconic Bramall Building. Team GB’s blind and partially sighted athletes took centre stage, including Tokyo paralympic gold medallists, Lora and Neil Fachie (cycling), and Chris Skelley (Judo). The Games will see over 1,250 blind and partially sighted athletes travel from across the world to compete in eleven different sports ranging from powerlifting, tennis, and archery. Football (B1 Men), Goalball (Men and Women) and Judo (Men and Women) events will also function as qualifying tournaments for the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. Image © ParalympicsGB You are receiving this email because you signed up to receive it either via the SSEHS Active website or the National Centre for Sport and Exercise Medicine (East Midlands) website. Read our privacy policy. |