A national survey has found that Cheshire and Warrington are more active than they were a year ago.
The Active Lives survey, conducted by Sport England, has found that 64.1 per cent of people in the Cheshire and Warrington region are meeting the recommended levels of physical activity. That means 484,400 people are doing 150 minutes of moderate level physical activity a week – 171,000 more than in 2016.
The survey, in its third iteration, has been continuously improved since its inaugural release in January last year. This is to ensure the accuracy of the data and allow better understanding of patterns of physical activity behaviours in the region.
Anne Boyd, CEO of Active Cheshire, said, “the Active Lives survey is an incredibly important tool for Active Cheshire and the local region. Understanding the size of the inactivity problem and who it is most likely to affect ensures we can make the biggest possible difference in the work we do.
“It is wonderful to see that since 2016, there has been an increase in the number of people reaching recommended guidelines. Thank you to the great work from local partners who contributed to this change. This marks an exciting start to the region’s whole system approach to tackling inactivity.”
Despite the increase, inactivity remains a global problem, and can be attributed to approximately 3.2 million deaths each year. As we become more technologically advanced, we must further battle the convenience lifestyle this brings, Ms Boyd added.
Locally in Cheshire and Warrington that means there are still 23.5 per cent of people who are classed as inactive, that’s 177,600 adults doing less than 30 minutes of physical activity a week.
Active Cheshire continue to spark a MOVEment to tackle physical inactivity in the Cheshire and Warrington region, encouraging local residents and organisation’s to say “I’m in” to tackling physical inactivity.
Anyone who would like to read more about the latest Active Lives survey, visit www.activecheshire.org or call 01606 330 212.
*Inactive refers to less than 30 minutes per week, fairly active 30-149 minutes a week, and active at least 150 minutes per week (and the recommended amount of physical activity for adults).
