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People’s lack of exercise

We need to make exercise the ‘norm’. It needs to be demystified and made accessible and cheap.

We have set up a walking group based out of our surgery building: one-hour buggy-friendly walks led by local park rangers, supported by a local charity. The local school lets us use its portable cabin for tea/coffee afterwards.

A gardening group promoting ‘grow your own’, no matter how small the space, is going to use the surgery as a demonstration site (the weather conspired against us last month). Again, this is being done with the local charity.

Exercise needs to be as simple, uncomplicated and inexpensive as possible. The benefits of working with charities are that it involves zero expense, patients and others see a benefit that feeds down to those not involved in the direct contact work too, building a sense of community.

Fresh air, exercise, fresh food, meet the neighbours: lots of work initially – I refused to take no for an answer, but its paying dividends in spadefuls.

Re: 7 in 10 adults do too little exercise – but £7bn savings possible