- The office of Andrew Lewer MP (Conservative) was named as the winner of the ‘Fit for Office’ physical activity challenge 2024
- Alex Davies-Jones (Labour) was the highest-scoring individual MP
- Baroness Helene Hayman scored the highest among Peers in Westminster.
- Parliamentarians were challenged with staying as active as possible throughout March to realise the value of physical activity.
The office of Andrew Lewer MP has been named the winner of the ‘Fit for Office’ challenge, hosted by ukactive in partnership with Myzone.
The month-long challenge, which is designed to encourage MPs, Peers and their offices to be physically active for their own health, and to recognise its value to constituents, saw 146 people sign up, representing 53 offices.
To climb the leaderboard, participants used Myzone’s wearable devices to track their physical activity effort levels and obtain Myzone Effort Points (MEPs). MEPs measure effort rather than distance or time spent exercising, and therefore reward people for being more physically active regardless of their previous fitness.
MEP scores for all participants in each office were tallied and divided by the number of participants in each team to provide the average score for each office.
Fit for Office 2024: Top five offices (MEP average per team):
- Office of Andrew Lewer MP – 18,076 MEPs
- Office of Alex Davies-Jones MP with 10,674 MEPs
- Office of Dehenna Davison MP – 8,138 MEPs
- Office of Neale Hanvey MP – 6,265 MEPs
- Office of Lia Nici MP – 6,182 MEPs
This year, individuals have also been recognised for their success in the challenge, with Alex Davies-Jones being crowned the highest-scoring MP and Baroness Hayman taking home the top prize for the highest scoring Peer.
The largest team (and the highest cumulative team score, of 46,194 total MEPs) came from Bob Blackman’s office, with eight members of staff competing.
Fit for Office 2024: Top three MPs
- Alex Davies-Jones MP (Labour) – 10,674 MEPs
- Bob Blackman MP (Conservative) – 10,300 MEPs
- Kim Leadbeater MP (Labour) – 6,788 MEPs
Events were held throughout the challenge to help participants get involved and stay active. Participants were invited to a free health check drop-in session with TV doctor, Dr Hussain Al-Zubaidi and his team at the Westminster Gym, which is operated by Jubilee Hall Trust. Some also took part in a spin class led by a Myzone Master trainer, Billy Burchett, to help boost their effort points.
The underlying message at the conclusion of the challenge comes at a pivotal time for the nation’s health, with NHS waiting lists reaching 7.75 million and ill- health among working-age people causing many to leave the workforce – an issue that is projected to cost the UK economy approximately £150bn a year (equivalent to 7% of GDP and an increase of 60% in the past six years).
Being physically active has proven benefits for our mental and physical health, allowing people to remain healthy, stay in employment and contributing to the economy, As the General Election approaches, ukactive will continue engaging parliamentarians to recognise the essential role of physical activity and the sector in addressing the health of the nation and economic productivity.
The challenge has previously been held in the USA and Australia, as well as the UK in November 2022, when Antony Higginbotham MP’s office emerged victorious.
Andrew Lewer, MP, whose office won the Fit for Office challenge, said: “It’s been great seeing my office being so engaged with the Fit for Office challenge and they’re thrilled to take the winning prize. Whether working from home or in the office, many of us lead a sedentary working life, and that’s why it is important to be active”.
Alex Davies-Jones, the top scoring MP in this year’s Fit for Office challenge, said: “I thoroughly enjoyed this challenge – it pushed me out of my comfort zone, encouraged healthy habits, and improved both my mental and physical health. It’s given me the confidence to keep this new routine up and encourage others to do the same!”
Bob Blackman, the second highest scoring MP in the challenge, said: “The challenge was a good excuse to get outside and rack up some steps, definitely initiated some healthy competition in the office too! Thank you to all at ukactive for organising this great opportunity.”
Baroness Hayman, the top scoring Peer in this year’s Fit for Office challenge, said: “I exercise pretty regularly anyway, but do tend to get a bit stuck in a rut. So, taking part in the’ Fit for Office’ challenge was a really good incentive to push myself further. And taking part as a team made it much more fun for us all!””
Huw Edwards, CEO of ukactive said: “This year’s Fit for Office challenge has seen even more parliamentarians lead the way and demonstrate the value of physical activity for their own health and wellbeing, as well as its importance in the lives of the constituents they serve.
“As we approach the General Election, the UK’s political parties must recognise the role of the physical activity sector in improving the nation’s health, reducing waiting lists and boosting economic growth.
“Fit for Office is testament to this ambition and we’re calling on our political leaders to work with the physical activity sector to help achieve our potential and get millions more people active.”
David Stalker, Director of Myzone, said: “We’d like to congratulate the office of Andrew Lewer for being the winner of this year’s Fit for Office challenge and equal congratulations to all of the Parliamentarians that got involved in boosting their activity levels over the challenge period.
“Our Myzone devices have helped us to measure, monitor and manage the effort-based competition and have given participants the motivation and support needed to experience, first-hand, the countless physical, emotional, and social benefits of keeping active.
“We very much hope that through our accurate heart rate tracking technology we have helped policy makers understand the power of movement and encouraged them to lead by example. Their involvement in this challenge and positive experience brings the importance of physical activity into the heart of the political conversation.
“We’re now looking forward to seeing how this challenge impacts Parliamentarians continued activity levels. and welcoming all participants, and more, to take part in the challenge again next year.”
To find out more or to register your interest for future challenges, email publicaffairs@ukactive.org.uk
More People More Active More Often
