Physical Activity

• A continued physical activity programme appears to be the best predictor of long term weight loss and its subsequent maintenance (American College of Sports Medicine 2000)

• Regular physical activity combined with healthy eating seems to be crucial in the effective management of obesity (British Nutrition Foundation, 1999)

Encouragement of an increased level of physical activity is also important for general health as it affects a number of other conditions such as CHD, diabetes, hypertension, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis and cancer.

What should we be encouraging?

• The recommended minimum is 30 minutes of moderate activity at least 5 days a week. This can be done in one go or can be accumulated through the day e.g. 10 minutes of activity three times during the day.

• Moderate activity is classed as a level of activity that it not too vigorous, makes you warm, slightly short of breath, but it is still possible to hold a conversation.

Getting Started

• It is important to consider where each individual is starting from. Some people will be more active than others to start with, some may be thinking of becoming more active and some may be anxious at the prospect of physical activity.

Remember - any activity is better than nothing.

• If an individual is starting from a very low level of activity it may be best to start with shorter periods of activity and build up to a few sessions a day, eventually building up to 30 minutes of activity all at once. The number of times activity is done a week may also have to be increased gradually. It is worth remembering that even if a heavier person can not manage as much activity as a lighter person, they will still be expending extra energy due to their weight.

• Physical activity does not just include 'exercise' but can be activity as part of the daily routine e.g. doing housework. Looking for an opportunity to increase activity levels such as walking up stairs rather than taking the lift or walking to the local shops instead of driving can contribute to increased physical activity.

• It maybe best to avoid promoting high intensity or high impact sports at first. Good sports to promote may be swimming, dancing, walking or cycling. Encouraging activities that people will enjoy is also important.

Activity as a group

Exercising with somebody else can be a social activity and make it more enjoyable. Setting up a walking group or a swimming group may encourage increased activity. A number of projects exist which promote increased physical activity:

If you are seeing people as a weight management group, someone from these organisations could be invited to contribute to a session focusing on increasing physical activity.

Useful numbers:

Walking for Health - Bradford Co-ordinators:

(these details are subject to change. Please contact individual PCT's for the latest details).