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Article in the Observer

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Dirtylitterboxo
  
See

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,11943-
12,00.html

"Too fat? Weed the garden or take a walk

Denis Campbell Sunday April 18, 2004 The Observer

Tens of millions of pounds will be spent advising Britons
to stop using lifts, to dig the garden and to walk more
often in a change of tactics aimed at ending the growing
'couch potato' culture. Ministers admit that efforts to
get the nation more active and tackle obesity through
promoting sport and fitness have failed. Now they want to
encourage people to become healthier through simple
activities such as walking and cycling rather than
aerobics, squash or football.

Ministers will sweep away decades of official advice by
stressing that the most realistic way to shake the nation
out of its increasingly sedentary habits is by short daily
bursts of activity. A media blitz will tell people that they
can add years to their lives by cycling to work, doing more
gardening, using stairs rather than lifts and pushing the
baby's pram. Under the banner 'Everyday sport: every body
feels better for it', a pilot campaign will be launched next
month in the North East, which has the lowest level of
participation in active recreational pursuits in England. It
will try to tackle the disenchantment many people feel with
traditional sport.

The campaign is being run by Sport England and will be
launched by an array of celebrities and leading politicians.
If successful, it is likely to become the basis for a
national campaign costing tens of millions of pounds a year.
Sport England is seeking £30 million a year for three years.

Sports Minister **** Caborn will unveil details of the plan
this week. Whitehall sources say the mounting tide of
obesity has convinced Ministers that action needs to be
taken. Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell admits that people
cannot be forced to go to the gym.

Felicity Porritt, director of the pro-activity
Move4Health pressure group, said: 'We are eating more and
doing less than our parents and grandparents. So to halt
the weight gain, it's as much about increasing the amount
of activity we do as it is about reducing the amount of
food we consume.'

A Department of Culture, Media and Sport spokesman said:
'We have seen evidence from other countries such as
Germany, Finland and Australia that campaigns can deliver
real benefits in terms of getting people fitter and
reducing levels of obesity. If we are to push the message
home about getting Britons more active, we will need to
have a campaign too.'

Everyday sport

Forget the gym workouts - this is what you should do:

Push the baby's pram around the block for a while

Do some gardening

Get off the bus or train one stop early and walk the rest
of the way

Use your local park or common for a jog or kickabout

Explore the countryside on foot

Cycle as often as possible

Leave the car at home and walk

Swim at your local pool

Walk up stairs; don't use lifts"

It's refreshing to see cycling being promoted as an option
to a healthier lifestyle.

Cheers, helen s

--This is an invalid email address to avoid spam-- to get
correct one remove fame & fortune
h*$el*$$e*nd**$o$ts**i*$*$m*m$o*n*s@$*a$o*l.c**$om$

--Due to financial crisis the light at the end of the tunnel
is switched off--

Simon Mason
  
"dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers"
<wafflycathcs@aol.comcomcom> wrote in message A media blitz
will tell people that they can
> add years to their lives by cycling to work,

Fantastic! Now my employers will finally get their heads
around what I've been telling them for years! They "can't
afford" bike lockers, but will spend millions on an
overflow car park that is now disused. Maybe now we'll see
some positive action.

Anonymous ;-)

Danny Colyer
  
dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers quoted:
> http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,11943-
> 12,00.html
<snip>
> Forget the gym workouts - this is what you should do:
>
> Push the baby's pram around the block for a while

Or better still carry the toddler in a rucksack on your
back. Jenny loves this :-)

> Do some gardening

I'd rather not. I've got a wife to do that, but I still have
to mow the lawn :-(

> Get off the bus or train one stop early and walk the rest
> of the way

I've always tended to get on the bus 2 or 3 stops late, just
because I hate standing around doing nothing so I'd much
rather walk a bit further and have a shorter wait.

> Swim at your local pool

My local pool's crap. Taking Jenny to a decent pool involves
a half hour drive :-(

> Walk up stairs; don't use lifts"

Much quicker IME - I regularly used to race the lift up 9
floors when I was at university, and I always won :-)

--
Danny Colyer (the UK company has been laughed out of my reply address)
http://www.speedy5.freeserve.co.uk/danny/
Why I like OE6 - http://www.speedy5.freeserve.co.uk/danny/misc/oe6.html
"He who dares not offend cannot be honest." - Thomas Paine

Succorso
  
Danny Colyer wrote:
>
>
> Or better still carry the toddler in a rucksack on your
> back. Jenny loves this :-)
>

Mmmmm.... warm barf down the back of your neck - I remember
those days!

--
Chris

Colin McKenzie
  
Danny Colyer wrote:

> I've always tended to get on the bus 2 or 3 stops late,
> just because I hate standing around doing nothing so I'd
> much rather walk a bit further and have a shorter wait.

Ah yes, I remember the day I felt lazy and decided to get
the bus into central London instead of cycling. I probably
got more exercise than I would have on the bike. Apart from
long walks to, from and between bus stops, there was the
classic dash, when the bus appears when you are just too
far past the last stop to get back in time and have to go
on to the next.

Colin McKenzie

Zog The Undenia
  
Simon Mason wrote:

> Fantastic! Now my employers will finally get their heads
> around what I've been telling them for years! They "can't
> afford" bike lockers, but will spend millions on an
> overflow car park that is now disused. Maybe now we'll
> see some positive action.

Wish we had an overflow car park. There's never enough
space. Well, they did build an out of town office, so how
they can complain about people driving to work beats me.

Dave Kahn
  
On Sun, 18 Apr 2004 12:25:16 +0100, "Danny Colyer"
<danny@speedy5.freeserve.giggle> wrote:

>> Walk up stairs; don't use lifts"
>
>Much quicker IME - I regularly used to race the lift up 9
>floors when I was at university, and I always won :-)

I used to challenge people to lift races, but I had an
unbeatable strategy. As I reached the top of each flight
I'd nip round and press the lift button. By the time they'd
stopped at every floor I'd usually had time to make a cup
of tea. :-)

--
Dave...

Get a bicycle. You will not regret it. If you live. -
Mark Twain

Vivian
  
"Simon Mason" <simon@simonmason.karoo.co.uk> wrote in message
news:V0WdnWk5VcB-xx_dSa8jmw@karoo.co.uk...
>
> "dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers"
> <wafflycathcs@aol.comcomcom> wrote in message A media
> blitz will tell people that they can
> > add years to their lives by cycling to work,
>
> Fantastic! Now my employers will finally get their heads
> around what I've been telling them for years! They "can't
> afford" bike lockers, but will spend millions on an
> overflow car park that is now disused. Maybe now
we'll
> see some positive action.
>
> Anonymous ;-)

David Nutter
  
Danny Colyer <danny@speedy5.freeserve.giggle> said:

>> Swim at your local pool
>
> My local pool's crap. Taking Jenny to a decent pool
> involves a half hour drive :-(

Same here (Lincoln). It's shocking really, given that
Lincoln has less population than Durham and double the
number of "public"[1] pools, for some reason it is harder
and more expensive to swim here than in Durham. I can no
longer go at lunchtime, my preferred time of day because of
this. Instead I must prise myself out of bed at 0630 to go
swimming at a consistent time each day.

I wish the authorities would realise that if they make
access to exercise facilities inconvenient, exercise ceases
to be a lesiure activity and instead becomes a chore. Thus,
people won't do it.

Regards,

-david

[1] One supposedly public pool here is permanently assigned
to schools, clubs and the like. The other one is
assigned to schools and clubs throughout the day and
often early evening as well.

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