Skip to main content

Search form

Type your search then hit enter
  • Contact Us
  • Login
  • About usBack
    • About us
    • About Us
    • Meet the Team
    • Meet the Board
    • Our Partners
    • Current Contracts
    • Current VacanciesBack
      • Current Vacancies
      • Head of Business Development
    • Partner with Us
    • Contact Us
    • Governance
  • What We DoBack
    • What We Do
    • Core ServicesBack
      • Core Services
      • Equity
      • Facilities
      • Funding & Support
      • InsightBack
        • Insight
        • Devon receives national investment to help older people get active in nature
      • Marketing & Communications
      • Safeguarding
      • Strategic Networking
      • Volunteer Development
    • ProgrammesBack
      • Programmes
      • Local Programmes
      • Primary Premium
      • Satellite Clubs
      • School Games
      • Workplace Movement
    • SectorsBack
      • Sectors
      • Commercial
      • Community Groups
      • Education – HE & FE
      • Education – Schools
      • Health
      • Local Authorities
      • NGB
  • Latest
  • Active Partnerships
  • Impact
  • Search
  • Login

Search form

  • Contact Us

You are here

  • Home
  • Latest
  • Walking boots not slippers - a GP Perspective

Walking boots not slippers - a GP Perspective

Posted on 19th October 2018
head and shoulders picture of Nick Tupper
  • Network News

The following article has been written by GP Nick Tupper

As a doctor working at a large inner town GP practice in one of the country’s poorest areas, I have to try and manage the medical problems caused by inactivity on a daily basis.

Every week I see a steady flow of patients with a range of long term health conditions and the common factor amongst a lot of them is their weight.

 My challenge as a doctor is to try and prevent them from progressively getting worse and acquiring more long-term problems.

 We know that people don’t age at the same rate and the way their health declines as they age is dependent on a number of factors, including genetics, environmental impact and lifestyle choices. But new research recently published by the British Medical Journal highlights how loss of fitness is inextricably linked to a subsequent decline in health.

 We know that nearly 40 per cent of people aged over 55 are inactive in that they do not complete at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity each week. 

 This lack of activity is a slow burning fuse that gradually increases the risk of developing a range of long-term conditions, including cardio-vascular disease, stroke type 2 diabetes, dementia and depression.

 It’s a big problem for the NHS and social care as the number of people living with a long-term health condition is growing by about 10 per cent for every 10 years they age, with multiple conditions stacking up on the way.

 Crucially, the physical activity sector has been expanding in recent years, and you don’t have to look far in local communities to see gyms and leisure centres sprouting up.

 But, sadly, this expansion has not been matched by a corresponding increase in uptake by users. Evidence points to participation decreasing as physical activity is edged out of daily life.

 As a country, we need to do better. Analysis by ukactive found that of the 500 million visits to public community facilities, only 20 per cent were made by people aged 55 and over.

 And the picture is bleaker when participation by the over-65s is reviewed, with this group accounting for only nine per cent of visits.

 Latest available figures show that the NHS in England spends over £17 billion a year on drug treatments prescribed at GPS surgeries and hospitals, a figure that has grown massively over the past five years, partly because of the rise in the number of people who have one or more long-term conditions.

 This provides a unique opportunity for the physical activity sector to step up to the mark to help ease the burden on the NHS and deliver quantifiable benefits in terms of health improvement - prescribing exercise instead of pills.

 Physical activity is already hailed as a ‘miracle cure’ by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges as it treats, manages and helps prevent more than 20 lifestyle related long-term conditions, including coronary heart disease, diabetes and many cancers. Our challenge is to raise its status across the healthcare community so it can operate on a level playing field, alongside prescription medicines.

 As a GP I can expect my over-65 year old patients to see me around eight times a year, increasing to nearly double this by the time they reach their mid-eighties. Through my involvement with Think4Wellbeing I am familiar with the Chief Medical Officer’s guidelines for physical activity and able to talk to my patients about them, but I wonder if other GP colleagues across the country feel as confident?

 It is easy to reach for my prescription pad -  more that 10 million prescriptions are dispensed in the country every week, alongside a similar number of lab reports.

 We can make change happen incrementally, but effectively, across the healthcare system, from pharmacies to GP surgeries, hospitals and much more. We can make every contact with a patient count by using it as an opportunity to convey the message that physical exercise is - as my learned colleagues say - a miracle drug - and driving forward positive behavioural change.

 Building more physical activity into daily life is an opportunity to rein in the ageing process and heard off the loss of function that inactivity causes.

 It will require some changes, but not massive ones, across the physical activity sector, including tailoring their service ‘offer’ to suit the needs of different demographics. We know for example, that around 95 per cent of the retired population prefer to take part in physical activity between the hours of 9am and 12 noon, when there tends to be spare capacity.

 The benefits of physical activity far out-weigh the low health and safety risks that they carry and all ages can prevent their health from declining by improving their fitness.

 As people age we should look to buy them walking shoes rather than slippers.

 (ends)

Additional Information 

This week the new Moving Medicine tool was launched at the International Society for Physical Activity and Health (ISPAH) Congress

Sport England have supported the Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine to produce the free tool, in partnership with Public Health England and with support from National Lottery funding.

The tool aims to help healthcare professionals talk to patients about the benefits of physical activity. 

 The Moving Medicine tool will help people working in roles such as doctors, nurses and physiotherapists advise patients on how physical activity can help to manage their conditions, prevent disease and aid recovery.

 Read the whole article explaining the background to the new tool

 

Related stories

map showing 10 Active Partnerships involved in #Active10
Network News
Innovating across a nation - Active Partnerships at Active London

A coalition of Active Partnerships came together around London Sport’s Active London conference to demonstrate the ways that new ‘on-demand’ interventions could contribute to individuals’ physical

Read more...
Older people enjoying movement
Network News
CSP Network partners with Oomph! to drive active aging

CSP network is partnering with Oomph! Wellness who have been announced as the largest delivery partner of Sport England’s £10m Active Ageing Fund.

Read more...
Go Back

Filter posts by region

Popular Tags

local authorities
Energise Me
BLM
Youth
services/core-service/safeguarding
mentoring
Fit and Fed
Campaigns
Sport Nottinghamshire
Northumberland Sport

Most Popular Posts

New classes launched across Shropshire to help maintain balance and strength
#LDNMovesMe competition winner, Ravi Sandhu gets put through his paces with Olympic athlete
Paul Faulkner Appointed Chairman of Sport Birmingham

Archives

  • November 2015 (5)
  • December 2015 (4)
  • February 2016 (5)
  • March 2016 (3)
  • April 2016 (4)
  • May 2016 (8)
  • June 2016 (10)
  • July 2016 (10)
  • August 2016 (3)
  • September 2016 (13)
  • October 2016 (9)
  • November 2016 (8)
  • December 2016 (1)
  • January 2017 (8)
  • February 2017 (4)
  • March 2017 (6)
  • April 2017 (8)
  • May 2017 (8)
  • June 2017 (14)
  • July 2017 (9)
  • September 2017 (11)
  • October 2017 (11)
  • November 2017 (5)
  • December 2017 (5)
  • January 2018 (5)
  • February 2018 (4)
  • March 2018 (3)
  • April 2018 (1)
  • May 2018 (9)
  • June 2018 (6)
  • July 2018 (11)
  • August 2018 (1)
  • September 2018 (9)
  • October 2018 (11)
  • November 2018 (5)
  • December 2018 (6)
  • January 2019 (6)
  • February 2019 (5)
  • March 2019 (6)
  • April 2019 (8)
  • May 2019 (7)
  • June 2019 (7)
  • July 2019 (6)
  • August 2019 (2)
  • September 2019 (8)
  • October 2019 (6)
  • November 2019 (7)
  • December 2019 (2)
  • January 2020 (5)
  • February 2020 (7)
  • March 2020 (7)
  • April 2020 (14)
  • May 2020 (4)
  • June 2020 (9)
  • July 2020 (8)
  • August 2020 (2)
  • September 2020 (11)
  • November 2020 (8)
  • January 2021 (4)
  • February 2021 (7)
  • March 2021 (7)

@ActivePartners_
Follow us

  • A massive thank you to all the volunteers that have kept activities going over the last 12 months. Your efforts mea… https://t.co/Ier6OH8KBi
    POSTED ON 19 April
  • RT @Sport_England: Got an idea that would help tackle inequalities & help more people to be more active? @DesignCouncil would love to hear about it.
    POSTED ON 19 April
  • Check out the #ActiveRecovery hub. Lots of brilliant resources to help schools, local authorities and families to g… https://t.co/4yCcgcJeAO
    POSTED ON 19 April

Follow us

Newsletter Sign-up

Be the first to hear news and opportunities from the Active Partnerships

You may have noticed we have a new brand, and the CSP Network is now known as Active Partnerships

Contact us

Telephone
07788 296161

Email
info@ActivePartnerships.org

Copyright © 2021 Active Partnerships All rights reserved.
  • Site Map
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Cookies
  • Legal
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
Site design by EHD