No images? Click here Your weekly physical activity bulletin12 April 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 New calorie labelling rules come into force to improve nation’s healthNew rules requiring calorie information to be displayed on menus and food labels came into force on 6th April. The changes, which were approved by Parliament in 2021 - mean it is now a legal requirement for large businesses with more than 250 employees, including cafes, restaurants and takeaways, to display calorie information of non-prepacked food and soft drinks. Calorie information will need to be displayed on menus, online menus, third party apps, food delivery platforms and food labels at the point a customer is making their food and drink choices. As well as listing the calories for each food item, menus and labels will also need to include daily recommended calorie needs. The legislation, which forms part of the government’s strategy to tackle obesity, aims to ensure people can make more informed, healthier choices when it comes to eating food out or ordering takeaways. Displaying calorie information may also encourage businesses to provide lower calorie options for their customers. Keep the size of your waist to less than half of your height, updated NICE draft guideline recommendsPeople are being encouraged to keep their waist measurement to less than half their height to reduce the risk of potential health problems, according to recommendations in an updated NICE draft guideline. Using the waist-to-height ratio, in conjunction with BMI, can help to provide a practical estimate of central adiposity, which is the accumulation of fat around the abdomen, to help to assess and predict health risks, such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension or cardiovascular disease. NICE added the waist-to-height ratio to its draft guideline after looking at evidence from several studies which showed that, alongside BMI, it could be used to assess and predict weight-related conditions in all ethnicities and sexes. The 2019 Health Survey for England estimated the prevalence of obesity in adults in England to be 28%, with overweight affecting a further 36%. Government estimates indicate that the current costs of obesity in the UK are £6.1 billion to the NHS and £27 billion to wider society. World Health Day: Supporting people with health conditions to be activeOn World Health Day (7th April), Sport England with the Richmond Group of Charities, called on the sport and physical activity sector to help more people with long term health conditions to be active, knowing the benefits it can have on their health. Sport England, has launched a new resource pack that collates the latest research on the barriers to activity for people with long-term health conditions, highlights key benefits of promoting physical activity to this group and provides examples of practical changes to support improved accessibility and inclusion. More than 40% of the adult population live with at least one long-term health condition and this group is twice as likely to be inactive as those without conditions. The removal of coronavirus restrictions presents an opportunity for the sport and physical activity sector to reinvent and ensure they are meeting the needs of the least active people, who live with multiple health conditions. This Mum Moves set to expand after pilot shows improved confidence among healthcare professionalsMore women across the nation are set to benefit from being physically active during and after pregnancy, as ukactive and Sport England announce the results of the This Mum Moves pilot project and plans for its expansion. This Mum Moves was created to support women to continue to enjoy and benefit from an active lifestyle during pregnancy and after childbirth by enabling and upskilling healthcare professionals to confidently promote and provide advice around physical activity within routine pre- and post-natal care. During a three-year pilot, This Mum Moves worked with NHS trusts in Sheffield, Sunderland, Plymouth, Cambridge, and Bexley, to deliver training to more than four hundred healthcare professionals. Following the piloting of training materials and resources, ukactive and Sport England have established a sustainable model which now will be taken forward. Girls offered free gym memberships to encourage active lives as part of new ‘Big Sister’ projectGirls aged between 9-15 years old in some parts of South Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Norfolk are to be offered exclusive free gym memberships at Places Leisure facilities as part of a pilot scheme to help improve confidence, wellbeing and activity amongst teenage girls living in areas of high deprivation. The initiative, called the ‘Big Sister’ project aims to bust the myths surrounding puberty and break down the barriers that girls face in leading healthy, happy and active lives. The free six-month membership offer includes unlimited use of the gym and swimming pool, a selection of group workout classes and free access to virtual classes and resources though the award-winning Places Leisure Locker App. Through its research, Women in Sport found that teenage girls, particularly those in areas of deprivation, face significant barriers to accessing leisure facilities and sports opportunities to help them maintain active lifestyles. The charity identified four key challenges: affordability, body confidence, managing periods and worry about safety or harassment. Mind hails progress made through seven years of the Mental Health Charter for Sport and RecreationFollowing the recent publication Mind’s ‘Mental Health in Elite Sport’ report, the Mental Health Charter for Sport and Recreation steering group has issued its own ‘Seven Years of Changing Culture’ report highlighting the progress made across the wider sports and recreation sector since 2015 when the Charter was established. The Charter, which used the power of sport and recreation to promote mental wellbeing through physical activity, has gained 470 signatories from a wide-ranging cross section of sporting organisations from grass roots to elite level and a selection of case studies are included throughout the report to highlight what has been achieved. Health on Earth: a healthy planet benefits us all – World Health Day 2022On World Health Day (7th April), WHO/Europe called on everyone to come together and recognise the importance of the planet, for the sake of people’s health and that of the generations to come. More than thirteen million deaths around the world, including 1.4 million in Europe each year, are caused by avoidable environmental factors, WHO estimates. This figure considers the accelerating climate crisis, which is the single biggest health threat facing humanity, but also includes air pollution, inadequate sanitation and clean water, exposure to chemicals and radiation and unsafe urban environments. In many places, reduced economic and transport activities brought about by measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19 resulted in the short term in cleaner air, reduced carbon emissions, less noise and greater safety for cyclists and pedestrians. This is proof that the power is in our hands to improve our environment, and that we can build back better as we recover from the pandemic. Using sport and physical activity to increase employability of people furthest from the labour marketThe contribution of physical activity and sport on health, wellbeing, economic recovery and growth is extensive, and covers a number of different areas of work. This includes using it as a vehicle to increase employability and inclusive growth, by improving skills & health with people currently furthest from the labour market. Active Lancashire and Somerset Activity & Sports Partnership (SASP) are two Active Partnerships that have both embedded working with those most at risk of health inequalities into their work streams. Active Lancashire are part of a well-established collaborative partnership which has delivered health and economic outcomes for deprived people of Lancashire for over 8 years. They are a lead partner working with local organisations to support improvements in health and economic outcomes locally. Their work has subsequently inspired SASP to follow in their footsteps, using the power of sport and physical activity to give those most at risk of health inequalities a sense of purpose, structure in their week, a sense of connectedness and develop new and exciting partnerships which embed the wider benefits of sport and physical activity across their local areas. 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. |