A Moving Story of Success in Surrey’s ‘Active Lives’ Campaign

Published on: 27 Oct, 2019
Updated on: 31 Oct, 2019

Figures from Sport England on the levels of physical activity show Surrey is now the second-most energetic “Active Partnership” area in England.

Results from the Active Lives report covering up to May 2019 show 69% of adults in the county meeting the Chief Medical Officer’s (CMO) recommended activity levels.
This minimum weekly level is 150 minutes of moderate physical activity (something that gets you slightly out of breath and raises your heart rate), or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise.

The figures reflect those for the country as a whole, where record numbers of people were active in the period covered by the report.
But Surrey’s scores pushed the county’s Active Partnership to second spot among 43 similar bodies across England, just behind the area covered by Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

And Surrey is now the least inactive Active Partnership area. People are classed as inactive if they do less than 30 minutes of physical activity per week.
Across our county [population 1.2 million], almost one in five people puts their wellbeing at risk, potentially driving up bills for the NHS by leading inactive lifestyles that could prove dangerous for their health.

Waverley is the most active borough with 73.7% of people saying they walk, run or play to meet the weekly 150-minute target.

Runnymede and Tandridge have had a significant increase in residents saying they too now are now officially “active”, with rises in Runnymede and Surrey Heath of those officially categorised as inactive under CMO guidelines.

Active Surrey’s director, Campbell Livingston said: “We’re really pleased to see the programmes we run with our partners, from local authorities to health bodies and key activity providers, are contributing to getting more people moving.

“Our focus on targeting the most inactive in our society seems to be paying off, but we’re not forgetting we still have to help almost 190,000 adults in Surrey move out of that bottom category.

“Keeping physically fit is less about becoming a top-class athlete, but rather a down-payment on your future wellbeing. Whatever you do, keep moving.”

Active Surrey is a not-for-profit, partner-funded organisation dedicated to the support, promotion and development of active lifestyles and sport throughout Surrey. More information is available at www.activesurrey.com