32
ISSUES: Fitness & Health
Chapter 3: Tackling physical inactivity
Prescribing exercise outdoors could reduce
obesity, say councils
Doctors prescribing exercise outdoors to patients would get more people doing
physical activity and help reduce obesity, say councils.
T
he Local Government Association, which represents
more than 370 councils, is calling for a similar model to
the ‘green prescription’ in New Zealand that gets people
outdoors, to be introduced in England andWales.
In NewZealand, where the scheme has been running since 1998,
eight out of every ten GPs have issued green prescriptions to
patients. These are forwarded to a patient support person who
encourages the patient to be more active through phone calls,
face-to-face meetings or a support group. Progress is reported
back to the GP.
A recent survey of patients given green prescriptions in the
country found 72 per cent noticed positive changes to their
health, 67 per cent improved their diet and more than half (51
per cent) felt stronger and fitter.
Rather than just issuing prescriptions for medicines, the LGA
says that if GPs in England and Wales wrote down moderate
physical activity goals, it would benefit patients who are obese
or overweight.
These could be outdoor walks, activities in parks, or family
exercise classes run by the local council.
Some GPs are already taking part in schemes to get patients
exercising and enjoying the great outdoors, such as in Dartmoor
and Exmoor.
Councils, which have responsibility for public health, want to see
the measures rolled out nationwide.
The latest guidelines for health professionals say that one in four
patients would exercisemore if advised to do so by a GP or nurse.
Research published in the
British Medical Journal
found that a
green prescription can improve a patient’s quality of life over 12
months and help people live longer, healthier lives.
Cllr Izzi Seccombe, Chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing
Board, said:
“Not every visit to a GP is necessarily a medical one. By writing
formal prescriptions for exercise, it would encourage people to
do more physical activity.
“There are some instances where rather than prescribing a pill,
advising on some type of moderate physical activity outdoors
could be far more beneficial to the patient.
“This couldbe going on organisedwalks, conservationworkwith
a local park group, or gardening at home.
“The green prescription model is something that could help to
tackle major health conditions such as obesity and diabetes.
There are already some good examples where this is being
A new report reveals that the English adult
population made around 2.93 billion visits to
natural environments between March 2013 to
February 2014 – the highest number for 5 years.
In total, 58% of the population claim to make one
leisure visit or more to the outdoors every week
and between March 2013 to February 2014, it is
estimated that the 42.3 million adults resident
in England took a total of 2.93 billion visits to the
natural environment.
Visiting the natural environment for health or
exercise accounted for an estimated 1.3 billion
visits to the natural environment between March
2013 to February 2014. Respondents to the survey
also agreed that being outdoors made them feel
‘calm and relaxed’ and the proportion agreeing
that a visit was ‘refreshing and revitalising’ was at
its highest in the most recent survey.
15 January 2015
© Crown Copyright
