No gold medals for our policy on getting fit

Remember all the fuss and excitement about the legacy of London 2012? And how we would be a nation transformed from couch potatoes to runner beans, thanks to a grassroots involvement in sport?

At the risk of being a gloomster and doomster, it unfortunately comes as no surprise that the much-heralded hike in Britain’s participation levels never happened. Maybe we were foolish to believe the hype, or maybe our politicians failed us by dropping the ball on that one.

Is it cynical to suggest our government loses interest in causes, however worthy, when there are no big businesses seeking to benefit, no juicy contracts being handed out, no lucrative lobbying or palm-greasing?

In between lockdowns last summer, we were encouraged to spend money with the slogan “Eat Out to Help Out”. Where was the same encouragement on the “Get Fit, Not Fat” front?

The present administration has no problem nannying us in a great many respects, yet when it comes to exercise, the silence is deafening. This, despite the fact it is in public health where minor changes can reap major benefits.

Improved mental health, physical well-being, emotional balance… these are the payoffs of exercise. People who regularly go to the gym or play sport make better food choices.

But in this regard, we’ve been left to our own devices. Our children, in particular, have been left on their own devices.

After a year and a half of lockdowns, isolations and quarantines, they have enjoyed so little activity I’m surprised any of them can walk to school, never mind take part in PE once they get there.

As the Tokyo Olympics, astonishingly, appears to be going ahead in the face of Covid outbreaks in the Athletes’ Village, the only talk is of bringing home medals.

Of course we want Team GB to succeed – but it will be a hollow victory if “a love of sport” in the UK continues to mean sitting at home eating takeaway food, watching elite performers compete.

Britain deserves better. It’s time the Government got a shift on and devised a dynamic, inclusive policy that benefits the many, not the few.