Your weekly physical activity bulletin

28 July 2026

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

An International Consensus on Strategies for Implementing Physical Activity in Inpatient Mental Health

Services is a new study led by Loughborough University, with contributions from international experts and partners including Mind, bringing together expertise from research, clinical practice and the voluntary sector to identify the most effective, impactful and feasible ways to embed physical activity into inpatient mental health care.

The findings highlight 33 practical strategies to help services overcome barriers and create more active, recovery-focused environments that support better physical and mental health outcomes.

Think your supplements are helping? A sports nutritionist explains what works and what doesn't

From green powders promoted on TikTok to performance pills promising instant gains, supplements have become a multi-billion-pound industry. But do they aid sport performance? Bethan Crouse, Performance Nutritionist at Loughborough University, dicusses whether supplements really are beneficial to our health and fitness.

Bethan is part of the support team at Loughborough, that works with athletes training on site, many of whom are currently competing in the Commonwealth Games, so she knows what to look for in a good supplement and the risks others can carry.

Leonard Curtis examines county cricket’s financial realities in new report

Leonard Curtis has published the second edition of its annual report assessing the financial health of domestic cricket in England and Wales, with the latest figures pointing to a widening gap between the seven counties who host a team in The Hundred, and the 11 non-hosts.

The report – launched at an event at Edgbaston on 22nd July attended by over 100 guests, including county chief executives, sports finance leaders and media – features an updated version of the Financial Performance Index for the 18 first-class counties first introduced last year.

Women and girls still changing behaviour to avoid harassment

Concerns about sexual harassment and intimidation affect how many women aged 16–34 experience fitness and leisure centres, according to new research Sport England have published.

Their latest Activity Check-in report found that almost one in five women (19%) in this age group say they feel uncomfortable or unsafe in these environments because of the possibility of harassment or intimidation.

The findings build on This Girl Can’s 2022 research with ukactive, which found that personal safety and confidence can be significant barriers for women and girls when participating in physical activity.

What Birmingham 2022 meant for the Commonwealth Games

It’s four years since Birmingham hosted the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Ahead of those Games Sport England invested £35 million – a combination of government and National Lottery money – into new facilities and other projects designed to increase participation levels across the region.

Among other things, the money supported local community sport and physical activity groups via the Commonwealth Active Communities programme, with special attention to children and young people.

Volunteers Needed for Menopause, Heart and Brain Health Study

Researchers at Loughborough University are looking for postmenopausal women aged 50-75 to take part in a study investigating how a high-fat dairy meal may affect heart health and brain function.

The study is seeking women who:

• Are postmenopausal (no periods for at least 12 months)
• Have a BMI between 25-40 kg/m²
• Are not using hormone replacement therapy
• Do not have diabetes and are not taking medication that affects blood pressure or cholesterol

Participants will attend a screening visit, a familiarisation session, and two full study visits involving a meal, blood sampling, cardiovascular assessments, and simple computer-based cognitive tasks. Reimbursement is provided for time and participation.

Interested in taking part?
Contact Aisha Borkar at a.s.borkar@lboro.ac.uk or Dr Oonagh Markey at O.Markey@lboro.ac.uk for more information or to check your eligibility.

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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