Make A Difference Day – Sat 29^th October

Have you ever considered volunteering and making a difference to perhaps someone’s life or community, but just never got round to making it happen? Well this Saturday the 29^th October is Make a Difference Day, a campaign organised by CVS aimed at encouraging people to get involved in volunteering to help make a difference.

This year’s theme will be highlighting how volunteers can help to tackle loneliness and isolation.  The charity is calling for volunteers to register their activity, which can include anything from creating a bus stop garden to teaching IT skills, renovating a homeless shelter or knitting blankets for cats and dogs in shelters.

For further information or to register your interest click here

To support the work of volunteering and the great work that volunteers do, the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) is offering free* training in health improvement to people who are volunteering / or thinking of volunteering.  Under the East London Health Makers Scheme, participants will gain a Level 2 Award in Understanding Health Improvement, which will enable them to not only understand the importance of healthy living and physical activity, but also how to positively encourage others to make healthier lifestyle choices.  By being educated, proactive and reaching out to people of need, we can all help to diminish health inequalities and improve the quality of peoples lives.

For further information on training please contact Nelly Araujo by email: naraujo@rsph.org.uk or by phone: 020 7265 7322. 

*The funding has been made available through the Mayor's Legacy Fund and the Big Lottery.  To be eligible to receive free training, all applicants must be willing to commit to volunteering work in London and be able to provide information on the organisation they will be volunteering at. 

Getting Sporty – The Benefits for Body and Brain!

It is widely accepted that exercise has many beneficial effects on the body.  However, a new review article entitled “Exercise, Brain and Cognition Across the Lifespan” published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, highlights that the positive effects of exercise also extends to the brain, influencing cognition.  The article draws upon recent evidence which identifies physical activity as positively affecting the body and also the mind.     

Michelle W. Voss, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her colleagues affirmed that both aerobic exercise and strength training play an essential role in maintaining brain and cognitive health throughout life.  However, they also highlighted that this area of research still needed to be explored into understanding how certain aspects of exercise influence brain physiology and function.   

The Results

The article used the findings from 111 studies to demonstrate the effects of aerobic exercise and strength training on humans from children through to the elderly. 
It was found that aerobic exercise was crucial for getting a head start during childhood on cognitive abilities.  It suggested that physical inactivity was associated with poor academic performance, whereas, exercise programs could help to improve memory, attention and decision making.  These effects, it was argued, extend to both young and elderly adults. 

There was strong evidence that showed aerobic training benefitted executive functions, including multi-tasking, planning and inhibition, as well as improving memory.  This is particularly evident for high-intensity and high load training for older adults.  More research needs to be carried out on the effects of strength training on brain health for children. 

Animal studies, which examine the influence of aerobic exercise has found that physical activity appears to change the brain structure, promoting the growth of new nerve cells and blood vessels.  It is also recognised as increasing the production of neurochemicals, such as BDNF and IGF-1 which help to promote growth, survival and repair of brain cells. 

Clearly, the studies identify the positive effects of exercise on the brain, but the article also made clear that there were gaps in the scientific literature and more needed to be done to examine how exercise type might promote different effects on brain health and cognition at different ages. 

"It is increasingly prevalent in the print media, television, and the Internet to be bombarded with advertisements for products and programs to enhance mental and physical health in a relatively painless fashion through miracle elixirs, computer-based training, or gaming programs, or brief exercise programs," the authors say. "Although there is little convincing scientific evidence for such claims, there have been some promising developments in the scientific literature with regard to physical activity and exercise effects on cognitive and brain health."

For more information on how to get active and the recommended physical activity guidelines please visit the NHS Choices website by click here. 

RSPH – Sport for Health

Sir Liam Donaldson, Chief Medical Officer stated that:

“The potential benefits of physical activity to health are huge.  If a medication existed which had a similar effect, it would be regarded as a ‘wonder drug’ or ‘miracle cure’.

RSPH Training Solutions, recognises the importance of how sport can play a vital role in improving ones overall health and wellbeing.  However, the problem stems in that so many people avoid sport and thus ignore one of the cheapest and most effective ways to improve health.  Sport for Health is a programme which has been designed for people who work in sport, either in a professional or voluntary role.  It aims to help them increase the level of physical activity amongst people by understanding how an active lifestyle promotes good health and also understanding the barriers people face and ways to overcome them.

Through the Mayor’s Legacy Fund, applicants can apply for funding which entitles them to 75% off the cost of the course.  For more information on Sport for Health please click here or email sportforhealth@rsph.org.uk

Sporting Advice

Today the Department of Health launched new advice on how to maintain fitness levels and stay or get healthy, for people of all ages.  The UK-wide physical activity guidelines by the four nations’ Chief Medical Officers, is intended to help people understand the benefits of physical activity and also promote the simple steps that people can take to incorporate activity into their everyday lives.

Although the guidelines build on previous advice about the positive outcomes of physical activity, they also highlight that being more active can dramatically reduce the risk of serious diseases such as heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

Key New Elements of the Guidelines Include:

How to incorporate physical activity into busy lives.  Adults can get their 150 minutes of activity a week in sessions of ten minutes or more and should aim to be active every day. 30 minutes five times a week is just one way this can be achieved.

·         Greater emphasis on vigorous activity and muscle strengthening through, heavy gardening, group sports, such as volleyball and basketball or swimming. There is good evidence this stimulates bone formation and maintains muscle mass;

·         Advice tailored to every age group including - for the first time - guidance for parents for under-fives;

·         Reducing and minimising periods of sedentary behaviour.

·         The guidance has a renewed focus on being active everyday and spells out the recommended minimum levels of activity for each age group:

The Recommendations:

Under Fives

180 minutes - three hours - each day, once a child is able to walk

Children and young people (5-18 year olds)
60 minutes and up to several hours every day of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity. Three days a week should include vigorous intensity activities that strengthen muscle and bone. Adults (19-64 years old) and older people (65+) 150mins - two and half hours - each week of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity (and adults should aim to do some physical activity every day). Muscle strengthening activity should also be included twice a week.

England's Chief Medical Officer Sally Davies said:

"Being active has enormous health and well being benefits. It protects against many of the biggest causes of early death like heart disease, and stroke, and can promote good mental health.
"The latest figures show that almost a quarter of adults are obese and on current trends by 2050 it means 9 in 10 adults will be overweight or obese. We know that more than 60 per cent of adults are not active enough which is why today the UK Chief Medical Officers are launching the first UK-wide guidelines that draw on the latest science to inform weekly levels of physical activity - whatever your age. "But it's not just about health. Cycling and walking more can save on transport costs, reduce congestion and pollution."

Robin Gargrave, Director of Innovation and Development at Central YMCA said:
"In terms of health benefits, we know that the duration, intensity and type of physical activity for a young person is very different to that required for an older adult. Most people know they can improve their health by being more active, but face barriers, which prevent them from doing so.

"This advice addresses these barriers by recognising the limitations of a 'one size fits all' approach to physical activity - it speaks directly to people at different stages of their lives and is flexible in its approach. For providers such as Central YMCA, this advice will enable us to develop and target physical activity interventions more effectively."

To access the guidelines, click here and to view the press release, click here

RSPH – Sport for Health: Bringing Sport into People’s Lives.

Sport for Health is a two part programme specifically for people who work in sport, either in a professional or voluntary role. It is designed to help them increase the level of physical activity amongst people who do not normally take part in sport.  It provides an understanding of how an active lifestyle promotes good health, and a practical approach to understanding the barriers people face and ways to overcome them.

Through the Mayor’s Legacy Fund, applicants can attend the courses at a 75% discount on the normal rate (ie the trainee fee is £50 per day as opposed to the normal £200).   In order to qualify for the discount applicants need to commit to 20 hours of voluntary work in the London area – either in sports or in encouraging others to take part in physical activity.
To find out more about this course, available funding and other programmes offered by RSPH, please click here call Nicolette Boustaoui on 020 7265 7325 or email sportforhealth@rsph.org.uk. 

Sport for Health: Bringing sport into people’s lives

The Royal Society for Public Health and the Mayor’s Sports Legacy Fund have launched a new two day course for sports leaders who would like to extend their experience and improve the health of their community.  The courses have been designed specifically for people who work or volunteer in sport.  

Sport for Health equips people with the skills to increase the level of physical activity of those who do not normally take part in sport and physical activity.

Participants will learn how an active lifestyle promotes good health and why behaviour change is so difficult for some people. They will also gain the practical skills to help people overcome these barriers and take part in physical activity.

Londoners may be eligible for up to 75% off the cost of the training in exchange for volunteer hours thanks to the Mayor’s Sports Legacy Fund, which is managed by the National Skills Academy for Sport and Active Leisure. This £3 million fund provides subsidised training to increase the number of Londoners working and volunteering in the sports sector, and up-skill those already involved, leading up to the 2012 Games.

Professor Richard Parish, Chief Executive of RSPH, comments “Sports leaders will gain a clear understanding of the key factors affecting health and well being, and the ability to communicate the benefits of sport and physical activity to others. They will have a better understanding of why many people are unwilling to get involved, and come away with practical ways to encourage a change in behaviour.”

National Skills Academy for Sport and Active Leisure CEO Florence Orban says: “A key goal of the Mayor’s Sports Legacy Fund is to remove barriers and engage Londoners who haven’t traditionally been involved in sport and active leisure, and the Sport for Health course clearly delivers on this. We are pleased to support this programme and encourage all eligible Londoners to apply for funding and help create a sporting legacy for 2012.”

The full price for each one day course is just £200 per participant and includes lunch, refreshments and full course materials.  The Mayor’s Sports Legacy fund will consider applications from people who commit to volunteering their skills with London communities.

To find out more about this course, available funding and other programmes offered by RSPH, please click here, call Nicolette Boustaoui on 020 3177 1625 or email sportforhealth@rsph.org.uk.