UK physical activity guidelines
In July 2011, The Department of Health published new physical activity guidelines, in response of the Chief Medical Officers' report "Start active, stay active: a report on physical activity from the four home counties".
Guidance has been produced regarding the amount of physical activity that should be undertaken. The focus for all age groups should be on being active everyday. The recommended minimum levels of activity for each age group are as follows:
Early years (under 5s)
Should be physically active daily for at least180 minutes (three hours), spread throughout the day (once a child is able to walk.)
Children and young people (5-18 year olds)
Should engage in moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity for at least 60 minutes and up to several hours every day. Three days a week should include vigorous intensity activities that strengthen muscle and bone.
Adults (19-64 years old) and older people (65+)
Adults should aim to be active daily. Over a week, activity should add up to at least 150 minutes (two and half hours) of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity in bouts of 10 minutes or more (one way to approach this is to do 30 minutes on at least 5 days of the week.) Muscle strengthening activity should also be included twice a week.
Please click here, to be taken to the Dept of Health UK physical activity guidelines.
Please click here, to be taken to the Dept of Health report "Start active, stay active".
For GP's
Eastern and Coastal Kent offer a wide variety of schemes and programmes that you can direct your patients to should they want to lose weight, stop smoking or to become more active. Select the link below to find out more.
Lifestyle Programmes
Professional resources
See the sites below for links to national Government policies and projects relating to healthy living:
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KMPHO - The Kent and Medway Public Health Observatory (KMPHO) provides public health intelligence and library support to NHS Eastern and Coastal Kent , NHS West Kent and NHS Medway. The observatory also works closely with Kent County Council, Medway Council and the 12 Kent District councils.
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SEPHO: The South East Public Health Observatory (SEPHO) is one of nine regional Observatories throughout England and Wales and is a member of the Association of Public Health Observatories.
SEPHO’s aim is to improve health and reduce inequalities in the South East region by providing information and support to local organisations, partners and stakeholders.
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National Obesity Observatory: Provides an authoritative source of data and evidence on obesity, overweight and their determinants.
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NCMP (National Childhood Measurement Programme): This programme weighs and measures children in Reception (aged 4–5 years) and Year 6 (aged 10–11 years) to assess overweight and obese levels. You can find data results for your area by linking to this site.
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Sport England: Sport England is the government agency responsible for developing a world-class community sport system. Go to the site to find out more about their work, targets and the outcomes they intend to achieve.
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MEND (Mind, Exercise, Nutrition, Do It!): MEND is a community, family-based programme for overweight and obese children aged 7-13 years old and their families. MEND is not a diet and expressly does not encourage rapid weight loss. Rather, it is about empowerment, putting the child at the centre of a range of ways to make life changes in terms of physical activity, food, self confidence and personal development.
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Wellbeing South East: An on-line resource for practitioners working to promote healthier lifestyles. Developed by the Chances4Change Big Lottery funded programme, it is a site giving information on Healthy Eating, Physical Activity and other wellbeing related programmes.
