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Encourage walking in
mid-life to help prevent dementia, diabetes and frailty as we age
THE National Institute for Health
and Care Excellence (NICE) has issued guidance on delaying or preventing
dementia, disability and frailty in older life, and have put walking high up
on the health agenda; advice warmly welcomed by Living Streets, the UK
charity for everyday walking. Among NICE's suggestions are that local
governments, transport professionals and Town planners should encourage
active travel; including walking; for local journeys by improving
environments where people live and work, and using new and existing traffic
management and highway schemes to make walking and cycling safer and easier.
The NICE guidance backs the work of Living Streets, which aims to create a
walking nation through education and campaign initiatives, influencing
decision makers and working with local authorities to create streets that
are fit for walking. The charity offers a Community Street Audit service to
help residents and planners create streets that are safe and well designed
for pedestrians. Dave Taylor, Living Streets Director (North West)
said:-
"It is encouraging to see NICE recommending we take a fresh look at our
Towns and Cities, and adapt them to encourage people to walk. Walking eases
congested roads, reduces pollution and helps create a healthier nation. We
must shape our environments to help people stay in good shape."
While Living Streets organises events such as Walk to School Week for
primary children each May and produces advice to inspire older people to
walk too, the NICE guidelines issued, have put the focus squarely on
encouraging walking in mid life to prevent dementia, diabetes and frailty as
we age. Dave Taylor added that:- "A lot of us are guilty
of spending too long sitting at work, at home and when we travel. Physical
inactivity leads to 37,000 premature deaths and costs the economy around £20
billion every year but by walking to work we can easily introduce activity
into our day and improve our health both now and as we get older. This one
small change in our daily routines can have a huge impact on our lives." |
