Government campaign is a step in the right direction for Britain on Foot

The Government and Mayor of London have launched a major campaign to promote physical activity across the country in a move designed to ensure a lasting legacy from London 2012 through encouraging the country to get fitter.

The benefits of physical activity are clear but a large proportion of the UK population is still inactive.

Only 56% of adults meet the Chief Medical Officer's (CMO) guidelines of 150 minutes of physical activity per week while 28.5% of adults fail to achieve even 30 minutes of physical activity over seven days.

In addition, only 21% of boys and 16% of girls aged 5-15-years-old are achieving 60 minutes of physical activity a day.

The ‘Moving More, Living More' initiative, headed in Government by the Department of Health, builds on learning from the world's most active countries and aims to shine a light on existing good practices, provide opportunities which work for people and recognise and tackle barriers that prevent people being active.

Prime Minister David Cameron has pledged the full backing of the Government to Moving More, Living More, stating: "The country was captured by the spirit of the 2012 Games, inspired by our sporting heroes and their many achievements. We now need to build on this, creating a nation that's physically active and improving their health for the long term. We need to provide communities with the encouragement to come together and realise the physical and social benefits of being more active. Government, Local Government, business and community groups must now join together to help make this ambition a reality".

The Prime Minister's Olympic and Paralympic Legacy Ambassador Lord Sebastian Coe says the project is vital to increase the nation's health. "Moving More, Living More will bring together Government, local government, business and above all the individuals and community groups - who know how to get people moving" he said.

This initiative is a major step for the OIA's Britain on Foot (BoF) campaign, which CEO Andrew Denton has been closely involved in events and lobbying since its launch two years ago. Using the BoF campaign as the OIA's calling card to government, Andrew brought together a network of contacts and built the profile of Outdoor Activity at cabinet level, resulting in discussions at Number 10, in both houses of Parliament, in National Health strategy meetings, in a Parliamentary Commission on Physical Activity, all of which have contributed to this new campaign being launched.

Andrew comments: "I'm delighted with this cross departmental commitment from the government. The ‘Moving More, Living More' campaign aims to promote recreational outdoor activity and not just sport, which is totally in line with the objectives of BoF. The OIA is working closely with the Department of Health (DH), Public Health England (PHE) and the 2012 Legacy Team, and sits on many steering groups to promote open spaces and outdoor recreation as a major solution to the issue. There are many opportunities for people to get active, along with boundless creativity and hard work from activity providers across the country. The OIA is really looking forward to helping drive this project forward".