{"id":20270,"date":"2024-06-13T06:00:38","date_gmt":"2024-06-13T05:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ukactive.com\/news\/leading-bodies-for-health-sport-recreation-fitness-and-leisure-urge-party-leaders-to-commit-to-making-uk-most-active-nation-in-europe\/"},"modified":"2024-06-13T06:00:38","modified_gmt":"2024-06-13T05:00:38","slug":"leading-bodies-for-health-sport-recreation-fitness-and-leisure-urge-party-leaders-to-commit-to-making-uk-most-active-nation-in-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ukactive.com\/cy\/news\/leading-bodies-for-health-sport-recreation-fitness-and-leisure-urge-party-leaders-to-commit-to-making-uk-most-active-nation-in-europe\/","title":{"rendered":"Leading bodies for health, sport, recreation, fitness and leisure urge party leaders to commit to making UK most active nation in Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"

A coalition of more than 200 bodies, athletes, businesses and charities across health, sport, recreation, and physical activity has written an open letter to party leaders calling on them to use the General Election to #TakeTheLead and commit to making the UK the most active nation in Europe.<\/p>\n

As the main parties announce their manifestos and the men\u2019s Euros comes into focus this week, a survey* of British adults asked where they think the UK ranks in Europe\u2019s league table for physical activity. Three-quarters (75%) guessed it would feature in the top 10, but the reality<\/a> is the UK is a miserable joint-11th among 15 comparable nations.<\/p>\n

The call for change is driven by the Active Partnerships network, the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity, the Sport and Recreation Alliance, the Sport for Development Coalition, ukactive and the Youth Sport Trust, which together represent thousands of organisations, gyms, swimming pools, leisure centres, sports governing bodies, and professionals across the UK.<\/p>\n

The letter kickstarts a new campaign launched by the organisations today (13 June) called #TakeTheLead, which will showcase the importance of creating a more active nation and, crucially, highlight the need for leadership by our national politicians to create the conditions for change.<\/p>\n

The 226 signatories to the letter range from major health bodies to sport\u2019s national governing bodies, education providers and the nation\u2019s biggest fitness and leisure groups, while stars such as Rebecca Adlington, Ugo Monye, Adam Olaore and Darcey Bussell have also added their support.<\/p>\n

The letter outlines the urgent need as well as the \u201cunique opportunity\u201d for any new Government to unlock the full potential of the sport, recreation and physical activity sector, in a move that would be \u201ctransformative for communities across the UK\u201d.<\/p>\n

It says: \u201cTo overcome our national health crisis and deliver economic growth, we believe you must commit to the ambition of making the UK the most active nation in Europe and work with the industry to deliver this vision.\u201d<\/p>\n

Collectively, the sector already saves the NHS \u00a39.5bn every year by preventing illness and in total generates \u00a385bn annually in economic and social value. However, the value generated by the sector could be far greater if the UK reaches and exceeds the activity levels of its European peers, according to ymchwil<\/a> by the Sport and Recreation Alliance.<\/p>\n

If the UK became the most active nation in Europe, the research projects:<\/p>\n