Coaching & PE, Fitness & Health

Let the games commence

Games4Life, a new UK campaign to inspire the nation to get active during this year’s summer of sport has been launched by Health Secretary Andrew Lansley.

The campaign is intended to build on the excitement of the sporting activities taking place this summer and it is hoped it will encourage millions of people to get involved and get active.

This summer there will be over 1,200 hours of sport on TV, which is an average of 13 hours a day. New research shows that 93 per cent of us will be tuning into some of this coverage during the next three months.

The survey also shows that over half of us will snack on crisps, four in ten adults will drink alcohol and one in five will eat a takeaway whilst watching.

In a bid to get the nation up off the sofa, Games4Life will be encouraging everyone to fill out a simple activity check questionnaire in return for a tailored Games4Life activity pack to keep both adults and kids active during the summer months.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said: “I’m looking forward to watching what is shaping up to be an exciting summer of sport on TV, beginning with Euro 2012.

But we know that playing sport can be as much fun as watching it and we want to help people make the most of the opportunities to get active.

“That is why we are launching Games4Life: to inspire us all to get off our sofas and try some activity ourselves.”

Around 2.6 million activity packs have already been distributed to 7,500 schools across the country with lesson plans for teachers and take-home activities for children to use throughout their summer holidays.

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