- Greater Manchester is committed to becoming the first Daily Mile city-region, by encouraging all its residents to get moving and adopt 15 minutes of physical activity every day
- Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, was presented with a special gift from the founder of The Daily Mile, Elaine Wyllie
Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester was joined by Elaine Wyllie, founder of The Daily Mile, to celebrate Greater Manchester’s commitment to becoming the world’s first Daily Mile City-Region.
Elaine presented Andy with a special pair of ‘The Daily Mile’ plimsolls to commemorate the city-region’s pledge to become more active and secure the fastest improvement to the health and wellbeing of Greater Manchester’s 2.8 million citizens by becoming the world’s first Daily Mile City-Region. This sets a target for all nurseries, schools, universities and work places to adopt The Daily Mile.
Currently 25% of Greater Manchester adults are inactive with 38% not active enough to benefit their health whilst 28% of children in Greater Manchester are classified as overweight or obese. With inactivity costing the NHS in Greater Manchester an estimated £26.7million per year, Greater Manchester partners are working together to get Greater Manchester Moving. There is compelling evidence to show that physical activity can greatly improve a person’s mental and physical wellbeing and The Daily Mile is an activity that can done by everyone regardless of age, ability or personal circumstance.
The Daily Mile is a simple, free and fun initiative where children and adults run, jog or walk for fifteen minutes every day. In this time, most people will average a mile or more.
Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said “We do things differently here in Greater Manchester and we are showing this by being the world’s first city-region committed to The Daily Mile. We are ambitious in both what we want to achieve and to improve the lives of everyone who lives and works across our city-region.
“I am a big believer in physical activity because it has a positive impact on both physical and mental health, which is exactly what The Daily Mile sets out to achieve. I want to give young people the best active start in life and it is very promising to see that we already have 43% of schools in Greater Manchester on board with the initiative.
“Currently 38% of adults in Greater Manchester are not active enough to benefit their health, but we are working to improve this. I am confident that with the introduction of The Daily Mile, aligned with the ambitions of the Greater Manchester Strategy and Greater Manchester Moving, we can achieve our goals of seeing a great improvement to the health, wealth and wellbeing of everyone in our city-region.”
Elaine Wyllie, Founder of The Daily Mile, said “I started The Daily Mile when I was a head teacher in 2012 to improve the fitness and increase physical activity levels amongst our students. It’s now spread to over 3,100 schools worldwide. Workplaces are now starting to catch on to the benefits. It’s not just physical fitness; participants have shown improvements in attainment, concentration and quality of sleep.”
Sarah Price, Executive Lead for Population Health and Commissioning at Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership, said “Our vision is to achieve the greatest and fastest improvement to the health and wellbeing of people in Greater Manchester. We currently face significant health challenges and inequalities, but whether it’s heart disease or mental health, becoming more active can make a big difference.”
“Walking, jogging, or running a mile each day is an easy way to fit physical exercise into busy family life – everyone can get involved, from children to grandparents. That’s why Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership is proud to support a region wide commitment to the Daily Mile.”
Matt Stocks, Senior Development Manager at GreaterSport, said “GreaterSport are extremely proud and excited about Greater Manchester becoming the world’s first city-region committed to The Daily Mile. We strongly believe that The Daily Mile can greatly improve a person’s mental, emotional, social and physical wellbeing. We hope that this award will inspire all Greater Manchester residents to walk, jog or run their Daily Mile!”
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
About The Daily Mile
The Daily Mile is a free, simple yet profoundly effective movement aimed at helping children get fit for learning and fit for life. Founded in 2012 in Stirling, Scotland by Elaine Wyllie, The Daily Mile simply involves 15 minutes of running or jogging, with walking kept to a minimum, outside around the school playground or perimeter every day.
The impacts can be transformational – after just four weeks, The Daily Mile sees noticeable improvements in children’s concentration, behaviour, attainment, moods and of course fitness levels.
Since its inception, The Daily Mile has spread to over 3,100 schools worldwide and is now in workplaces, hospitals and other healthcare settings too. The Daily Mile focuses on inclusivity and is beneficial to all children and adults regardless of age, ability or personal circumstances.
www.thedailymile.co.uk #DailyMile @_thedailymile
About Greater Manchester Moving
Greater Manchester partners are working together and are adopting The Daily Mile to achieve the GM Moving ambition: to get everyone in Greater Manchester more active, to secure the fastest and greatest improvement to the health, wealth and wellbeing of the 2.8 million people of Greater Manchester.
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