Active Lives Survey – Draft

Active Lives survey provides a clearer picture of inactivity in Cheshire and Warrington.

A national survey, conducted by Sport England, has found that almost a quarter of people living in Cheshire and Warrington are leading inactive lives.

The precise figure is 23.6% of people in Cheshire and Warrington, which means that there are 178,100 people in our sub-region doing less than 30 minutes of physical activity a week.

The results have been published shortly after Active Cheshire hosted a dedicated conference to tackling the issue with the Cheshire and Warrington sub-region on Friday 6th October 2017.

Over 300 stakeholders came together and pledged their support for a new blueprint which has been co-produced by partners who make up the area's Physical Activity Task Force.

The 'Blueprint to Tackle Physical Inactivity' sets out a whole system approach using five key pillars:
-Active Kids (0-11),
-Active Workplace,
-Active Minds,
-Active Design,
-and Activators.

The blueprint is a strategy for embedding physical activity into all aspects of everyday life by 2040.
Today, Active Cheshire- as the lead body for physical activity and sport in the area- hopes to raise awareness of the fact that tens of thousands of people are missing out on the wide-ranging benefits that physical activity can bring with regards to health, wellbeing and prosperity.
On Thursday 12th October 2017, the second Active Lives data was released.
The information allows us to gain an in-depth understanding of physical activity behaviours both nationally, and on a local level.
Regrettably, the picture is largely unchanged from the initial findings produced in January 2017, with :
-22.3% of adults inactive in Cheshire East,
-23.4% of adults inactive in Cheshire West and Chester,
-and 26.2% of adults inactive in Warrington.

InactiveFairly ActiveActive
Cheshire and Warrington 23.6% 14.1% 62.3%
Cheshire East 22.3% 15.0% 62.7%
Cheshire West and Chester 23.4% 13.3% 63.3%
Warrington 26.2% 14.0% 59.8%

'Inactive' refers to less than 30 minutes per week,'Fairly active' refers to 30-149 minutes per week'Active' refers to at least 150 minutes per week(150 minutes is the recommended weekly amount of physical activity for adults).

The data is collected through Sport England's Active Lives, a nationwide survey that provides detailed and reliable insight into the physical activity habits of the nation.
Throughout the last 10 years Sport England's previous survey, Active People, remained largely unchanged.
While it measured a wide range of sports, it lacked the ability to provide insight into all the ways we are otherwise active ' dancing, gardening, or travelling actively (eg: walking and cycling).
The Active Lives survey takes into consideration the fact that people take part in sports and physical activity in different ways.
Reflecting on the survey's results, Active Cheshire CEO Anne Boyd commented:
'Inactivity is cited as one of the most important public health problems of the 21st century.'It not only contributes to a range of physical health issues, such as increased risk of some cancers, type 2 diabetes, and stroke, but also mental health.'
For some people, getting the recommended 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity a week comes with additional barriers.
The information gleaned from the Active Lives surgery will allow us to identify who inactive people are and how we can help them lead more active- and therefore healthier- lives.
For example, if you are female (27%), have a disability (43%), or are long term unemployed (37%), you are more likely to be inactive.
In addition, the older we get, the more inactive we become.
The survey revealed that 16-24 year olds are least likely to be inactive (15%) while those 75+ are most likely to be inactive (71%).
Active Cheshire is currently inviting feedback on the ambitions of the new blueprint, which is part of a consultation phase open until 26th November 2017.

Anyone wishing to learn more about the approach to dealing with inactivity locally can download the document from the link on the Active Cheshire website (see: www.activecheshire.org/partofthemovement2) or visit their offices for a physical copy of the document.Feedback can be sent via email to blueprint@activecheshire.org before the 26th November deadline, or alternatively submissions can be made by social media (twitter.com/activecheshire and facebook.com/activecheshire) or by calling 01606 330 212.