NEWS
National Childhood Obesity Week
Monday 5th - Sunday 11th July
With an estimated three million overweight and obese children in the UK, childhood obesity is one of the most serious health epidemics facing our society today. Not only is this crisis damaging our childrenÃs health and quality of life, it also has huge financial implications for the NHS.
To raise awareness about this epidemic, MEND and the National Obesity Forum have joined forces to launch National Childhood Obesity Week.
Children are 'exercising less'
Skateboarding is the kind of activity the BHF wants to encourage.
Only one in eight youngsters is getting the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity a day, according to the British Heart Foundation (BHF).
It surveyed more than 1,000 children aged eight to 15 in July and August.
The survey found that a third of the children did less than an hour of exercise a week and 20% thought you only needed to do it if you were fat.
Find our more from BBC News
Couch potato parents are risking the health of their children
Research published by Living Streets as part of International Walk to School Month has highlighted a direct link between parental behaviour and childhood activity levels.
New Living Streets research has found that children who have 'active' parents (those that say they try to walk where they can) are 68% more likely to walk to school than children of 'inactive' parents (those who rely on their car at all times), demonstrating the need for parents to act as positive role models and set examples to their children for the benefit of their health.
Find out more from Living Streets
All Pupils in England To Get Healthy Lifestyle Lessons
All pupils in state schools will now receive high quality lessons in everything from first aid and personal finance to relationships and the consequences of drugs misuse as Schools Ministers announced that Personal Social and Health Education (PSHE) will become a compulsory part of the curriculum from Key Stage 1 to 4 (ages 5 to 16) with PSHE given designated space in the timetable.
Find out more from DCSF
Edinburgh Cycle paths get busier as two wheels prove better than four
The number of cyclists using Edinburgh's off-road paths doubled in three months, according to new figures from Sestran.
Initial findings show the number of bikes recorded by the counters leapt from 38,718 in the last three months of 2007 to 75,489 between January and April 2008.
The counters also reveal that the city's cycle paths are mostly used during the week by commuters, with 8am and 5pm the peak times, while Wednesdays are the most popular day for cyclists, according to the Sestran figures.
Find out more from Scotsman
New Faces at the Department for Transport
Geoff Hoon replacing Ruth Kelly as Secreatary of State is not the only change in recent weeks. Taking over Ministerial responsibilities for Smarter Choices from Rosie Winterton will be Paul Clark MP, the new Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport. Meanwhile Nigel Campbell who was Divisional Manager, Cycling and Sustainable Travel, Regional and Local Transport Delivery Directorate has also moved on and is to be replaced by Jessica Matthew formerly of the DCLG
European Green Capital title
The European Commission has just announced the 35 candidate cities that have applied for the first two years of European Green Capital title.
Some of them are medium sized, but none of them small, because only cities with more than 200000 inhabitants can apply.
Find out more from Europa
Interview with new Secretary of State for Transport - "I love cars"
In an interview with The Telegraph Geoff Hoon said: "I drove 3,500 miles this summer on our family holiday, we drove across 10 countries. I have driven across the United States four times. I love cars, I love being in cars, I think so do most people. I want to help and support those people who have that same kind of enthusiasm for driving that I have."
Find out more from The Telegraph
New Department for Transport (National) Transport Statistics
The Department for Transport has published the following Transport Statistics:
- Public Transport Statistics GB: 2008 Edition
- Experiences and perceptions of anti-social behaviour and crime on public transport
Find out more from DfT
Parents 'stop children cycling'
Parents' fears about road safety are turning children into a lost generation of cyclists, says a government-backed agency that promotes cycling.
Find out more from BBC News
Northern Irish Pupils highlight school run CO2 problem
Schoolchildren across Northern Ireland will be finding out just how much carbon dioxide the school run is responsible for on Wednesday 6th February and how much they can save by walking to school instead of being driven.
The event, which is being called 'Carbon Saving Day', is being organised by Sustrans as part of its Rural Safe Routes to Schools project. Schools across Northern Ireland have been given red balloons with 'CO2' printed on one side and 'Walk to School' on the other. Children are being encouraged to make a special effort to walk to school and will be given the balloons to raise awareness of the amount of carbon dioxide produced by the school run.
Find out more from SUSTRANS
Call on MSPs to support healthy, active travel in Scottish Environment Week
Two leading charities are calling on MSPs to focus on creating an environment in Scotland which encourages people to travel in a healthy and environmentally-friendly way. The call from Ramblers Scotland and Sustrans Scotland comes as thoughts turn to all things green in Scottish Environment Week (5 -11 February). The charities have organised a lunchtime event on Wednesday 6th February, hosted by Nanette Milne MSP at the Scottish Parliament, for MSPs to find out more about how ongoing investment in planning, designing and promoting walking and cycling can help bring about significant changes in the way people in Scotland travel.
Find out more from SUSTRANS
Obituary - Hans Monderman
The Dutch traffic engineer Hans Monderman, who has died from cancer aged 62, inspired and developed a fundamental change in thinking about the relationship between people, places and traffic. He challenged many long-established assumptions about safety and the relationship between pedestrians and traffic. In so doing, he initiated a new approach to the creation of civilised streets and public spaces.
Read his Obtituary in the Guardian
NICE publish public health guidance on creating environments to encourage physical activity
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has issued guidance on promoting and creating built or natural environments that encourage and support physical activity. This guidance represents the first ever national, evidence-based recommendations on how to improve the physical environment to encourage physical activity to improve health
Modeshift is welcomes the inclusion of calls for comprehensive networks of walking and cycling routes to schools and the recognition that the work undertaken by in safer routes to school can led to increases in walking and cycling for school communities