With an estimated 3 million middle-aged adults physically inactive across the country, and 43% of 40-60 years olds in the West Midlands not managing at least 10 continuous minutes each month, Public Health England (PHE) and the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) are encouraging adults to incorporate brisk walking into their days as a way to improve their general health and wellbeing.
As part of the push to get adults doing more moderate intensity physical activity each day, health experts are encouraging people to increase the intensity of their walking, rather than just focus on the distance or number of steps.
Moderate intensity physical activity means getting the heart rate up and breathing faster. Just 10 minutes of brisk walking a day is an easy way for adults to introduce more moderate intensity physical activity into their day and reduce their risk of early death by up to 15%.
To help adults do this, PHE’s ‘Active 10’ app has been created and it is the only app of its kind that combines intensity and time, rather than just distance.
Taking a 10 minute brisk walk each day can help build up towards the UK Chief Medical Officers’ (CMO) recommendation of at least 150 minutes per week of moderate to vigorous physical activity. This has been linked to health benefits including a lowered risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some cancers.
A new survey by PHE looking at adults perceptions of physical activity in the West Midlands found that:
- Many adults struggle to fit in exercise, in the West Midlands, 35% say not enough time is the main reason, followed by 32% not feeling motivated, and 23% being too tired
- Over half (56%) of adults in the region think more than 240 minutes of exercise per week is required to see general health benefits – nearly double the recommended guidance of at least 150 minutes – and 19% in the West Midlands think that more than 420 minutes per week is required (an hour per day)
- Nearly 9 in 10 (87%) adults in the region say they walk more than 10 minutes per day, however this drops to just over half (51%) who say they walk briskly for this amount of time.
Dr Lola Abudu, Director for Health and Wellbeing at PHE West Midlands, said: “We all lead busy lives, but summer is the perfect time of year to spend more time outside and be more active. The good news is that just 10 minutes of brisk walking every day can really benefit your health in many ways; improving your mood and reducing the risks of serious long-term health conditions like heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, and some cancers. Brisk walking is simply walking at a pace that gets your heart pumping faster and makes you feel slightly out of breath, and research shows it’s the combination of the intensity of activity and how long you are active that leads to health benefits.
“The Active 10 app is the first free app to show you when you are walking fast enough and long enough to get health benefits. It shows how much brisk walking you are doing, where you can increase your pace and how you can fit more Active 10s into your day. The app also sets goals and provides hints and tips to keep you going, so you can walk your way to a healthier you.”
Julia Wagstaff, manager at Edgbaston Community Centre, Birmingham, runs activities for local community members of all ages and abilities, she said: “It’s quite shocking to learn that 3 million middle-aged adults, age 40-60, in this country are not getting any exercise whatsoever. Sadly, as they get older their health problems will increase, unless they do something about this now.
“At Edgbaston Community Centre, we recognise the importance of keeping communities healthy. We run weekly health and wellbeing clubs and our members think the Active 10 app is a fantastic way to get busy people – who say they don’t have time to exercise and those not accustomed to exercise – to get fit and healthy. People can walk briskly and increase their heart rate anywhere, in the park with friends, during the school run, or in the garden. The app is a great way to keep people motivated, and they can even compare notes with friends, family members and their partners.”
Professor Sir Muir Gray, Clinical Adviser for the Active 10 app and One You campaign, said: “The additional health benefits that can be achieved by walking at a brisk pace for periods of 10 minutes or more – as opposed to totting up a certain number of steps throughout the day – are undeniable.
“I’d advise anyone of any age and activity level to start to fit in at least one 10 minute brisk walk a day as a simple way to get more active, especially those who may be taking medication for a long term health condition – you will receive even more benefits from walking briskly for 10 minutes or more a day.”
Dr Zoe Williams, GP and RCGP Clinical Champion for Physical Activity and Lifestyle, said: “GPs want their patients to be healthy and enjoy life, and there are simple ways in which we can all improve our health. I often encourage my patients to take up more daily physical activity, which can start with just a 10 minute brisk walk – it would be great to see more people doing this across the country. Moving more is an important step forward to improving the health of the nation and looking after our NHS, which is often overburdened by lifestyle related illness.”
Already more than 30,600 people in the West Midlands have downloaded the ‘Active 10’ app and in a single month, approximately 90,025 ‘Active 10s’ (10-minute brisk walks) were completed by Active 10 users.
‘Active 10’ is supported by the RCGP and was developed by PHE in collaboration with The University of Sheffield, Sheffield Hallam University and the National Centre for Sport and Exercise Medicine. Join the 600,000 people across the country who have downloaded ‘Active 10’ and make the first step towards a healthier you. Search ‘Active 10’ to download the app for free.
