How active are you?

Wednesday 22 April 2020

With limited options for keeping active during the lockdown, The Health Improvement Commission wants to find out what you're doing and how it can inspire others to 'Be Active'.

With a number of resources available locally to help out, the Commission is keen to see how people are utilising their own space at home, or the quieter lanes around where they live as well as other outdoor spaces:

Research on the importance of physical activity:

Recent research undertaken by Sport England has demonstrated the importance of physical activity during the coronavirus crisis:

• 63% of adults in England say it’s more important to be active now, compared to before coronavirus.
• The majority of people (67%) also believe exercise is helping them with their mental health during the outbreak
• While the majority are realising the importance of exercise to their health, the research also shows that some people are finding it harder to be regularly active than others – including older people, those on a low income, those living alone.

See the research HERE. 

The response to our Be Active at Home resources and the many other local initiatives involving physical activity suggest that these findings are likely to be similar here in Guernsey.

Quieter roads and lanes have helped us to stay active – and we want to see how.

Pictured: Alun Williams of the Health Improvement Commission, along with his daughters. He's encouraged them all to 'Be Active'. 

It’s been a difficult couple of weeks as the Bailiwick has worked together to deal with the Coronavirus outbreak. Our leaders have shown great understanding of the needs of the community, especially allowing islanders to leave the house for up to two hours of exercise including walking, cycling, running and sea swimming. This was a brave, inspirational decision. It reflects a recognition of the importance of being active for individual and community well-being.

At the same time the reduction in traffic has meant that individuals and families have been able to enjoy much quieter island roads and lanes. This has given us the freedom to play, walk, cycle and enjoy the outdoors, in many cases, as never before and there is a noticeable increase in people walking and cycling. In the quietest of spots there are even rainbows and messages of support and hope drawn on the roads alongside chalk hopscotch designs.

We know these are exceptional times but we want to capture examples of the Guernsey community enjoying the outdoors. 

When lockdown is over, the Commission have plans for a new initiative to create pop up play spaces, and we will use islanders’ homegrown ideas and stories as part of the project. 

Please can we ask that you forward this request to families and friends.

If you have photos or stories of what you have done outdoors and will be doing this weekend, please send them to the Be Active Team at the Health Improvement Commission using:

alun.williams@healthimprovement.gg or @healthimprovegg on Facebook and Twitter.

Make sure that you stay safe when taking photos outside! 

Pictured above and top: All images provided by the Health Improvement Commission.