In The News
MEDALLIST LAUNCHES NEXT PHASE OF ACTIVITY CAMPAIGN
01/05/08
The launch of the B Active campaign took place in Westfield Derby on Thursday 8 May.
Olympic rowing medallist James Cracknell OBE will launch the next phase of a Derby activity campaign at 12.30pm on Thursday 8 May, with the help of a video game, a diary room and computer software.
The ‘b-active’ campaign by Derby City Council and other partners is now extending its focus to adults as well as children, and representatives will be in the Westfield Derby shopping centre from Thursday 8 May to Saturday 10 May.
They will be inviting shoppers to exercise on a Nintendo Wii Fit, declare themselves activity ‘saints’ or ‘sinners’ in a diary room and create pictures of how they are likely to look in the future if they don’t get more active, all with the aim of getting people to do 30 minutes of exercise a day.
The campaign has teamed up with the national NHS Choices online service and Derbyshire County and Derby City Primary Care Trusts to create an interactive website where people can obtain personal walking routes, ask questions of sports experts, watch videos, join a forum and sign up for an activity text messaging service. The website is a pilot for Derby and Derbyshire, which, if successful, could be extended to the rest of the country.
Shoppers will be able to visit the website at the three-day event and sign up for an eight-week challenge entitling them to entry into a prize draw for a £1,000 Westfield shopping spree, free pedometers and other items.
On Thursday 8 May only, a Derbyshire County PCT bus will be in Derby Market Place for visitors to visit the interactive website and sign up to the ‘30 a day’ challenge.
The ‘b-active’ campaign has concentrated on children since last year because research carried out in 2006 by Leeds Metropolitan University showed that, on average, 57% of Derby children aged five to 16 did not take enough exercise to stay healthy but now the Council and its partners want to tackle the 79% of Derby adults that do not take enough exercise.
Andrew Beddow, Council Head of Sport and Leisure, said: “The ‘b-active’ citywide project has concentrated on raising children’s physical activity levels. We now want to use the same successful principles to get adults to do more exercise, with an emphasis on the enjoyment people can gain from taking part. With dynamic new partners on board we can really grow the good work of ‘b-active’, and the ‘30 a day’ challenge is a great way for adults of all ages to build more exercise into their daily lives.”
James Cracknell said: “I am delighted to be supporting the ‘b-active’ initiative in Derby, and the NHS Choices Internet site is a fantastic resource to demonstrate to people how to keep fit and healthy. Getting young people involved in both doing and enjoying physical activity is essential if young people are to get the most from their health. In sporting terms, too, if we can give children the opportunities and encouragement to take up exercise and sports it will boost our push for success in future sporting events.”
Gerald Beales, Director of Health Improvement at Derbyshire County PCT, said: “The NHS Choices initiative is truly unique as it uses technology such as the Internet and mobile phones to engage 18 to 24 year olds in physical activity. Visitors to the website can download personalised activity programmes, get tips from experts and share experiences with peers on the online discussion forum. There really is something for everyone.”
ENDS