By Design Council (2014)
This guide looks at how the design of buildings and public spaces in cities and towns can lead to positive changes in our lifestyle and ultimately to greater levels of physical activity. It outlines the key facts which detail the problems of inactivity; examples of action which could be taken; and suggestions for different sectors and professions.
By British Cycling (2014)
This report, commissioned by British Cycling from Cambridge University, finds that if people replaced 5 minutes of the 36 minutes they spend each day in the car with cycling, there would be an almost 5% annual reduction in the health burden from inactivity-related illnesses including heart disease, diabetes, stroke and some cancers. It also argues that if 10% of trips in England and Wales were made by bike, the savings to the NHS of the top inactivity related illnesses would be at least £250 million per year.
By UK Active (2014)
This report contains borough by borough analysis of increasing levels of physical inactivity across England, and the steps being taken to combat it. It looks at the causes of inactivity and the interventions which are being effective. It also reveals that English local authorities spent on average just two per cent of public health budgets on physical activity promotion and investment in 2012.
By NICE (2013)
Overview: Lack of physical activity is a risk factor for chronic diseases, such as heart disease, stroke and diabetes. Physical inactivity in the UK has been estimated to have cost the NHS £0.9 billion in related ill health in 2006–07 (Scarborough et al. 2011).
Women are less likely to take part in physical activity than are men: only 28% of women in England meet the current recommended level of physical activity, compared with 40% of men (Start Active, Stay Active 2011). In addition, people from low socioeconomic groups have low rates of participation in physical activity (Kavanagh et al. 2005).
See the NICE Evidence Services topic page on physical activity for a general overview of the subject.
Current advice: The chief medical officers for the 4 UK nations recommend that all adults should aim to be active daily (UK physical activity guidelines 2011). Adults aged 19 years and over should do at least 150 minutes (2.5 hours) of moderate intensity physical activity a week, such as walking at 3–4 mph. Alternatively adults should complete 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity spread across the week, such as cycling at 12–14 mph, or a combination of moderate and vigorous intensity activity.
NICE guidance on physical activity for adults in primary care recommends that adults who are not currently meeting the UK physical activity guidelines should be advised to do the recommended level of activity. These people should be provided with information about local opportunities to be physically active for people with a range of abilities, preferences and needs. NICE also has public health guidance on four commonly used methods to increase physical activity.
The NICE Pathway on physical activity brings together all related NICE guidance and associated products on the topic in a set of interactive topic-based diagrams.
New evidence: Cleland et al. (2013) did a systematic review and meta-analysis of trials that looked at interventions to increase physical activity in socioeconomically disadvantaged women. The authors searched for studies in women who had a low education status or a low income, were unemployed or in low status occupations, or who lived in an area of low socioeconomic status. A total of 19 studies, most of which were conducted in Europe and North America, were eligible for inclusion in the review. An initial random effects meta-analysis identified significant statistical heterogeneity, so the data could not be pooled to produce an overall measure of effect. Instead the authors conducted analyses of predefined factors that might influence the success of an intervention, such as setting and duration.
Delivery mode was the only factor found to have a significant effect on the success of an intervention to increase physical activity. Studies in which the intervention had a group component – such as group education meetings or practical sessions – found a greater difference between intervention and control groups (standardised mean difference [SMD] 0.36, 95% CI 0.17 to 0.54, p=0.0002) than studies in which the intervention was delivered individually (SMD –0.02, 95% CI –0.35 to 0.31, p=0.90) or in a community setting (SMD –0.02, 95% CI –0.10 to 0.05, p=0.58).
The authors estimated that this difference would be equivalent to an additional 70 minutes of physical activity a week for women in group interventions or an extra 1000 steps a day. The authors noted that most studies in their analysis used self-reported measures of physical activity and that only 5 of the 19 studies included had a low or medium risk of bias. Nevertheless they suggested that the use of group-based approaches is a key factor in interventions that successfully improve physical activity in socioeconomically disadvantaged women.
Commentary: “Evidence exists to support group interventions being successful for other public health measures compared with other interventions; for example, for people quitting smoking. However, it should be noted that group interventions are the format least likely to engage people in quitting, so personal preference needs factoring in. The level of preference for group interventions among the participants in the studies analysed here is not clear, because recruitment and drop out data are not included in a number of the studies.
“In addition, it is unclear whether the effect noted in this study was specifically the result of group approaches or whether the holistic nature of the intervention was the significant factor. Any future work should separate these aspects of intervention delivery.
“Practice in terms of approaches to increasing physical activity should not be changed solely on the basis of this study. The findings do, however, provide useful information for healthcare professionals considering options for increasing physical activity in communities of disadvantaged women. It would be helpful to have comparative cost effectiveness data between individual and group interventions to further support these deliberations.” – Elaine Michel, Director of Public Health, Derbyshire County Council
Study sponsorship: This study was not funded.
By NICE (May 2013)
By NHS Choices (2013)
Guidelines on the amount of physical activity recommended for children under 5 years old, including related factsheets.
By Nuffield Health (2013)
This report reveals that early indicators of poor mental health are on the increase. It also finds that GPs are 46 times more likely to prescribe medication than explore medically proven alternative options, like exercise. This report calls for all GPs in the UK to take a ‘diagnose, consider exercise, refer, treat’ approach to physical activity when patients present with early signs of mental ill health.
Pollard, T. et al. BMC Public Health, 2012; 12: 1087
School recess provides an important opportunity for children to engage in physical activity. Previous studies indicate that children and adults of South Asian origin are less active than other ethnic groups in the United Kingdom, but have not investigated whether activity differs within the shared school environment. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that British Pakistani girls aged 9–11 years are less active during recess than White British girls.
By Public Health England (2013)
This summary report and associated tables present the results of standardised dental examinations of five year old children from across England during the 2011/12 school year. The tables provide details of total five year old population, sample size, number of children examined, along with weighted values for a number of dental and oral health indicators. Data and associated confidence intervals are presented at upper and lower tier local authority level.
By Public Health England (August 2013)
This briefing aims to provide a useful resource for a range of agencies, including local authority public health teams, children’s commissioners and providers of children’s services, schools, children’s centres, youth workers and parents/carers. Wellbeing is linked with an individual’s physical health, health behaviours and resilience. This briefing focuses on the association between health behaviour and wellbeing in children, drawing on a new analysis of two existing datasets, and findings from the wider academic literature.