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The important role physical activity plays in improving health is sometimes unrecognised and misunderstood. Currently, physical inactivity is the fourth leading cause of global mortality and ill health in society today. The incidence of diseases such as heart disease, cancer and type 2 diabetes could be decreased if more inactive people were to become active.
Inactivity related illness costs the UK economy more than £5 billion a year and the implications of this are wide ranging. Community-based physical activity interventions such as Active Herts, provide a cost effective, readily accessible option for people to take their first step to a more active lifestyle.
The following resources and publications provide a strong evidence base and further reading for healthcare professionals to learn more.
Interested to learn more about physical activity linked to health?
If you are interested in reading and learning more around the benefits of physical activity to health, then please visit the following:
British Medical Journal – E-Learning Modules
- The importance of physical activity
- Physical activity in the treatment of long term conditions
- The health benefits of physical activity: promoting physical activity in primary care
- The health benefits of physical activity: depression, anxiety, sleep, and dementia
- Motivational interviewing in brief consultations
Further reading
- Academy of Medical Royal Colleges – Exercise: The miracle cure and the role of the doctor in promoting it
- Public Health England: Everybody active, every day: a framework to embed physical activity into daily life
- UK Active – Turning the Tide of Inactivity (January 2014)
- Start Active, Stay Active: A report on physical activity from the four home countries’ Chief Medical Officers (July 2011)