SportsArt UK is proud to support Benefit from Activity, an informative and motivational website aimed at encouraging people of all ages to get active, which was created by the team at Walk Unlimited.
Physical inactivity is the fourth biggest killer in the world. As little as 15 minutes of regular daily exercise is enough to make you live longer and have a better quality of life.
Benefit from Activity, a new website designed to help people improve their health by being more active, will be launched on 19th September 2016. Unlike other sites with similar aims this website uses facts from published medical research to demonstrate just how activity can help prevent and improve a surprisingly wide range of health conditions.
The content of the website has been adapted from work carried by Doctor Brian Johnson for the Motivate 2 Move website which provides GPs and other health professionals with access to evidence which demonstrates the value of exercise. All of the examples are based on sound medical research, and the original version is endorsed by the Royal College of General Practitioners of Wales (RCGPWales) and British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine (BASEM).
Visitors to the website can search for many conditions including cancer, arthritis, high blood pressure and dementia and get easy-to-understand advice on how being active can improve and even prevent these conditions.
Walk Unlimited, the people behind the website, recognize that for many people starting to get active can be hard work.
Managing Director, Anne Clark, says: “We wanted to find a way to get the message across to people that they can do something about their health; they can do something that will make a difference, even if they have been diagnosed with a health condition. People can feel powerless when they are diagnosed with an illness – they don’t know what to do, by creating Benefit from Activity we are providing the information they need to take control of their health. Our aim was to provide enough information to motivate people to be more active. Even doing something as small as a short walk each day, we can be healthier and live longer.
“We know it can be hard to get started, so we found real-life case studies to help people see that someone just like them has managed it. We’re not talking about getting people running or going to the gym here, we’re looking at activity that everyone can take up such as walking or even just being aware of how much you are sitting done, it all helps.”
The website addresses some of the key facts that we all should be aware of in regard to physical activity. Not being active is more likely to shorten your life than high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, diabetes or smoking. The people behind the website believe that if more people knew these facts they would be motivated to get more active.
Dr Johnson says: “Being active enriches our lives in so many ways, through social enjoyment, feelings of well-being and benefits to our physical and mental health. There is a very strong proven relationship between activity and our health status and physical activity is considered to be as powerful as many drugs. By improving our activity, we improve our health and can reduce our risk of hospital admission and visits to our GP. It can be difficult to motivate yourself to become more active but with understanding of the many benefits this may help the individual to take control of their health.”
The website is designed to be accessible to everyone, it deliberately avoids using too much medical jargon or complicated statistics. It provides advice and helpful links to other resources, and of course is free to access.
We at SportsArt are proud to be a part of this movement and are keen to encourage all age groups across the UK to get active!
Background information
The website is based on the work of GP, Dr Brian Johnson, creator and principal author of the Motivate 2 Move health professional website. Contact: [email protected]
Benefit from Activity has been created by Walk Unlimited (www.walk.co.uk), a social enterprise dedicated to encouraging people to walk more. Contact details are: Anne Clark, Managing Director, [email protected] 07779 582446
The website is supported by Sports Art, one of the most creative manufacturers of premium quality fitness, medical, performance and residential equipment.
