July saw the launch of Fit for the Future: 10-year Health Plan for England, the government’s keenly awaited health mission to build a health service fit for the future. Sadly, physical activity barely gets a mention.
The plan aims to reimagine the NHS with prevention at its heart and sets the challenge for the health service to ‘reform or die’. Lofty ambitions indeed! There is a whole section called ‘From Sickness to Prevention’ which, you would hope, would have physical activity as a key component in reducing the workload on an overstretched NHS.
I searched, hopefully, for detailed plans to utilise our sector among wider vaccination programmes, expanded free school meals, the restricting of foodstuffs and banning of tobacco. I was given hope by the images chosen for the plan, which showed Nordic Walking and people stretching. Surely there would be a grand plan to harness the power of activity?
Eventually, I found references to Parkrun and general mentions of public interest in health, as well as the place-based spending by Sport England. There was also an announcement of a partnership with The Great Run Company – which, apparently, will get “millions more people” moving and exercising regularly, without offering any details how.
As I read on, it became very apparent that a lot of time, space and thinking – and I’ve no doubt funding too – will be spent on weight loss medication over the next 10 years. I couldn’t help thinking that the plan, which I thought was all about easing the pressures on the NHS, seems to further medicalise an issue that, let’s face it, needs to be tackled by societal change? What happened to the plan for people not needing the NHS? Aren’t we simply storing up problems for future generations? Where’s the prevention?
The week before the plan was published, a study by Frontier Economics for the Nesta thinktank estimated the UK’s epidemic of overweight and obesity to cost £126bn a year. It highlighted how the solution was a combination of food, medicine and physical activity. Sadly one of those is barely seen in this report.
Upset? Just a little. I may have to go and see a doctor. Apparently it’s the answer to everything these days.