Why do we need to do this?

Inactivity is a stubborn long standing problem, which without intervention is not going to go away. We cannot afford to be complacent or the situation could get worse.

Opportunities to be active in everyday life are often engineered out of our lives and older residents in Hull can spend longer in ill health compared to other parts of the country.

  • Physical activity rates in Hull are lower than the national average.
  • Levels of poor health, life limiting illnesses and obesity are quite high compared to other places.
  • It is estimated that physical inactivity costs Hull £35m a year and is responsible for 17% of deaths, which equates to more than 400 deaths per year in Hull.
  • Research shows that physical activity can boost self-esteem, mood, sleep quality and energy, as well as reducing your risk of stress, depression, dementia and Alzheimer's disease.
  • Getting more active, more often leads to a wide range of health and wellbeing benefits, and is a really effective way to make people healthier to feel good.

This is a call for action

Our aim is to transform activity levels in Hull by making Hull a place where people can be more active as part of their everyday lives. We will deliver this ambition through strong local partnerships, accepting that no single organisation can solve the problem alone.

Working together with sectors such as education, health, sport and leisure, planning, transport and economic development, we can achieve a step change for the health and better prosperity of all of Hull’s residents.

Get it right and the benefits will be felt through improvements in physical, mental, social and economic health. Get it wrong and the costs of ill health and preventable deaths will continue to be measured not just in personal unhappiness but in economic terms, inconsistent with the longer term aspirations for Hull. Never has the need to reduce inactivity levels in Hull been more urgent.

I hope that you find the enclosed strategy, Towards an Active Hull inspiring and use it as a reference point when considering future plans to help achieve the ambition of increasing levels of physical activity in Hull.