FIT AND HEALTHY OLYMPIAN TASK
hol consumption, unhealthier diets, poorer sleep quality and decreased physical activity.
The changes in diet, sleep and physical activity have the clearest link to negative moods.
The irony is that now is the time for genuine positivity – we have vaccines but we need to help them work their magic.
PROFESSOR Chris Whitty, the UK’S Chief Medical Officer, said: “There is no point in life where doing more exercise does not improve health in multiple ways.” Numerous studies back him up, suggesting the important role exercise has in enhancing the response to vaccination.
Vaccines are not the end and they will not protect us from the underlying problem – the state of our public health.
As Dame Sally Davies, the former chief medical officer, said: “Thousands of Covid-19
deaths could have been avoided if we had tackled our obesity crisis.” Obesity drastically increases risk from the virus with a 113 per cent increased probability of hospitalisation and it nearly doubles the likelihood of death.
So, hot on the heels of the mass vaccination rollout the Government must produce a radical plan to improve public health. It is imperative that the issues of inactivity across all ages and all backgrounds are addressed. Failure to do so will result in a longer crisis that puts our collective wellbeing under prolonged threat.
To turn around the fall in general physical activity the Government must reopen sport and fitness facilities, and quickly.
This sector did not have the comprehensive support offered to others, surprising in a health crisis. Pure Gym, for example, is losing £500,000 every day – even with the Exchequer’s support.
This sector’s economic recovery is directly linked to the future of our public health.
Financial support should be accompanied by genuine support for the Better Health campaign, and in turn linked to the Prime Minister’s Obesity Strategy.
Supporting physical activity isn’t about finding future Olympic champions.
The pandemic has highlighted the importance of being physically healthy and active.
A number of the issues facing the Government can be helped by a flourishing fitness industry – mental health conditions, Type 2 diabetes, loneliness and crime reduction.
Successive governments have failed to fully unlock the potential of physical activity.
The current one has to place public health at the heart of this nation’s renewal. The healthier we are, the more we give ourselves a fighting chance.
‘The nation appears to be in lockdown fatigue...with that comes loss of motivation’
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ONE street in London earns more than £50,000 a week in parking fines.
The amazing cash cow was revealed in a countrywide survey of local councils.
When the coalition government came to power in 2010 it warned local authorities to stop treating motorists as “cash cows”. But new figures reveal the UK’S motorists were hit for £1.76billion in council parking charges last year and £102million for bus lane offences.
Drivers in the capital are hardest hit by penalty tickets, with Cornhill in the heart of the City the most lucrative, hauling in more than £2.5million a year for the local authority.
Another traffic scheme that brought in more than £1million last year was a noright-turn rule at a junction in Enfield, north London. It snared 21,000 drivers.
Outside of London the most lucrative street was Cleveland Street, in Doncaster, where CCTV cameras catch private vehicles, which have been banned from using the town centre street. People parking on Brighton’s famous seafront were also among those caught out, with almost 2,500 drivers hit with a penalty ticket.
The RAC’S Nicholas Lyes said: “The vast majority of drivers are in favour of the rules of the road being enforced, whether that’s speeding, talking illegally on a hand-held phone or other offences.
“But when it comes to councilenforced offences, such as driving in bus lanes and illegal parking, there can be some inconsistency which causes disproportionate amounts of frustration.
“The source of this is more often than not poor signage.”
David Renard, from the Local Government Association, said: “Parking rules help to manage congestion from inconsiderate parking. Councils also have to try to ensure there are spaces available for everyone at all times of the day.
“Income raised through on-street parking charges and parking fines is spent on running parking services.”