Active St Eds
The ‘Active St Eds’ campaign launched in June 2012, supported by St Edmundsbury Borough Council, Suffolk County Council, NHS Suffolk and Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, aims to inspire people to increase their physical activity to improve their quality of life.
The campaign will complement Suffolk’s most active county initiative launched in February as part of a countywide collaboration with partners across Suffolk to help make Suffolk the most active county in England.
Increasing physical activity is literally changing people’s lives for the better in St Edmundsbury
Beyond the health benefits and the never ending battle to lose pounds and inches, people living in Bury St Edmunds and Haverhill are getting better sleep, coping better with the stress of their daily lives, managing their health conditions, improving their relationships, building self esteem and making new friends thanks to activity.
St Edmundsbury is already leading the way with activity levels. Sport England's Active People Survey (APS) published in December revealed that St Edmundsbury has the highest increase in adult sport participation in the country, and is among the top areas for active young people, women and disability sports. The survey also showed that St Edmundsbury saw the highest percentage increase for active recreation such as walking and cycling in the
Dr Simon Lovegrove, a GP at Victoria Surgery in Victoria Street in Bury St Edmunds, said: “As a GP I fully support the Active St Eds Campaign to encourage more people in the borough to get active to improve their wellbeing.
“As GPs we probably sign more prescriptions for our patients than we need to. 21st century medicines clearly have an important part to play in keeping us alive and healthy. However, what is sometimes overlooked is the fact that exercise ,were it a pill, could be one of the most cost effective drugs ever invented.
“It is medically proven that regular physical exercise can bolster mental well-being, help manage stress and depression as well as help improve sleep. It also helps strengthen bones and muscles and therefore keeps you strong, mobile and less dependent on others. Being more active means a healthier heart because it reduces several cardiovascular risk factors including blood pressure. It also makes it easier to maintain an ideal bodyweight and reduce your risk of obesity.
“With the Olympics round the corner, the message to all of us in St Edmundsbury should be to get our daily dose of activity.”
Make a Pledge
Research shows that setting an achievable and realistic goal for physical activity will help you stick with it and achieve your aims. Make a pledge to become more active and tell your friends and family then pick a treat that you will reward yourself when you achieve your goal.
Pick up your free Pledge Card at
What the Experts Say
Physical activity not only helps keep your body healthy it is also good for your overall well being. If you don't believe us then there are some articles below from local health experts who champion physical activity as a great way to keep mentally as well as physically healthy. Follow the link to the article written by our very own Fitness Manager Matt Hickey's guide to fitting exercise into your life which has some great tips.
Physical Exercise and Mental Health - Andy Harding – Suffolk Mental Health Partnership Trust
Fitting Activity Into Your Day - Matt Hickey - Abbeycroft Leisure Contract Fitness Manager
Active St Eds Campaign Supporters
Tessa Lindfield, NHS Suffolk’s Director of Public Health said The Active St Eds campaign was a great way to encourage people to take some exercise in order to keep active and healthy.
She said: “Exercise is good for you in so many ways and will help increase your muscle tone, boost your metabolism, ease stress, raise energy levels and improve your sleep. It can also help reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, stroke and high blood pressure. Taking exercise needn’t be difficult or expensive, with walking or cycling an easy way to achieve the recommended 30 minutes a day of activity.”
Cllr Sara Mildmay-White, St Edmundsbury Borough Council Cabinet member for Culture and Sport, said she warmly welcome the initiative and hoped that it will provide life changing opportunities for many of our residents.
She said: “By providing inspiration the scheme helps with that hardest first step to being more active. The people who answer the call create a virtuous circle by inspiring others and they deserve our respect. I hope many will be inspired.”
Councillor Colin Noble, Suffolk County Council’s cabinet member responsible for sport said: “Active St Eds offers people an easily accessible way of increasing their levels of activity by using an approach that sets realistic goals alongside a motivating rewards scheme.
“I’m sure the project will make a very positive contribution to Suffolk’s ambition to become the most active county in England.”
Livewell: Livewell run a Haverhill Healthy Walking Group which is run by trained volunteers under the auspices of Livewell and has been set up to encourage families and adults to eat well, move more and live longer. A list of these walks can be found here.
News
Active St Eds Campaign Launched. Read more.
Follow the Campaign
Follow the Active St Eds campaign on twitter at www.twitter.com/AC_leisure with the hashtag #activesteds.
