Subject: DOH:AT LEAST FIVE A WEEK DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH 2004/0156 29 April 2004 AT LEAST FIVE A WEEK A stark warning over the health risks posed by Britain's "couch potato culture" was issued today by the Government's top medical adviser. The warning came as the Chief Medical Officer, Sir Liam Donaldson, published a new landmark report on physical activity and health - At Least Five A Week Smoking and unhealthy diet have long been established as major causal factors for chronic disease but the report says that inactive living is equally important. Sir Liam Donaldson said: "People need to stay active over the whole of their lives if they are to stave off the threat of obesity and killer diseases like cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes and cancer. "We are moving less than our parents and grandparents. This is a major risk factor for the nation's health. We need to combat the 'couch potato' culture, and this means building moderate everyday physical activity into our lives. "It is not about spending hours and hours in the gym, but it is about finding ways to build activities into our daily lives." For general health benefit, adults should achieve a total of at least 30 minutes a day of at least moderate intensity physical activity, on 5 or more days of the week. This report will be considered by Ministers when they draw up the forthcoming White Paper on Public Health, following the public consultation exercise, currently under way. John Reid, Health Secretary, said: "This is a excellent report which clearly sets out the importance of a more active lifestyle. The challenge for all of us; Government, business, the voluntary sector and individuals themselves, is how we achieve that." Sir Liam said the recommended levels of activity could be achieved either by doing all the daily activity in one session or through shorter bouts of activity of 10 minutes or more. For example, an adult may take a daily brisk walk or cycle to work and children could be encouraged to walk to school, in addition to two or three weekly leisure activities such as swimming, football, or gym. All activity can help prevent obesity, so people should make the most of all small opportunities to be active such as using stairs and doing the gardening. The report highlights that: * up to two-thirds of men and three quarters of women don't take enough physical activity for a health benefit; * a quarter of adults and six per cent of 2-20 year olds are obese; and * the cost of inactivity - direct costs of treatment and indirect costs caused through ickness absence - is an estimated £8.2bn annually. Sir Liam Donaldson added: "Adults who are physically active reduce their risk of developing major chronic diseases, such as heart disease and stroke and type 2 diabetes, by up to half (50%), and the risk of early death by about 20-30%. This report must be the wake-up call that changes attitudes to active lifestyles in every household." The report analyses evidence from around the world of the impact that an inactive lifestyle has on public health. It concludes that obesity is now reaching epidemic proportions and show little signs of slowing. If current obesity rates continue, a third of all adults will be obese by 2010 - equal to US levels. Notes to editors: 1. The Chief Medical Officer's report, At Least Five A Week,: Evidence on the impact of physical activity and its relationship to health is available at www.dh.gov.uk 2. The report's recommendations for physical activity to maintain a healthy lifestyle are: * Children and young people should achieve a total of at least 60 minutes of at least moderate intensity physical activity each day. At least twice a week this should include activities to improve bone health (activities that produce high physical stresses on the bones), muscle strength and flexibility. * for general health benefit, adults should achieve a total of at least 30 minutes a day of at least moderate intensity physical activity on 5 or more days of the week. It is likely that for many people, 45-60 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity a day is necessary to prevent obesity. The report also makes more specific recommendations for adults for the beneficial effects for individual diseases and conditions. Moderate physical activity will usually mean: * an increase in breathing rate; * an increase in heart rate, to the level when the pulse can be felt; * a feeling of increased warmth, possibly accompanied by sweating on hot or humid days. 3. Media enquiries only to Alison Langley, DH Media Centre, 0207 210 5649. All other enquires to DH Public Enquiries Unit 0207 210 4850 -------------------------------------------------------------------- GNNREF: 94028 Issued by : DOH Press Office Contact : If you have any queries relating to this press release, please forward this e-mail to the Press Office e-mail address provided above, or alternatively contact the originating Press Office by telephone. (Media queries only) Please DO NOT attempt to reply to the sender of this e-mail. The sender is involved solely as a broadcasting agent and cannot process e-mailed queries. Any attached files with a .DOC extension should be read using a word processor capable of reading Word 97 files. If you believe that the originating body is sending you Word 2000 files that you are not yet capable of reading, ask them to save future files in an earlier version.