People across the North East spend less of their lives in good health than elsewhere in the country.
Today’s shocking statistics show that amount of time is falling, and the gap between the North East and rest of England is growing. People and communities across the North East simply do not have the economic or social conditions necessary to live longer healthy and fulfilled lives.
The harrowing inequalities within England and especially within our region have come about over decades of social decline. The salient reality of this is laid bare in a line from the Office for National Statistics.
The North East has had the lowest health life expectancy at birth in every period” since their time series began.
We know that movement can play a powerful role in fostering healthy and prosperous communities. A healthier population enables people to be present for those precious moments later in life, it enables people to work and flourish. It places less strain on the NHS, it’s good for individuals and it’s good for our region.
Moving more can mean whatever you want it to. Take the stairs instead of the lift, walk or wheel to the shops, join a class or a club.
Sadly, it’s not always as easy as it could be for people to do this, especially in communities experiencing hardship or deprivation. That’s why we’re calling for partners to do more to make it easy for people to be more active – local authorities, education, health, employers all have a part to play, and we all need to come together.
There are differences in healthy life expectancy statistics at a local level, and local communities are best placed to determine what they need. At Rise, we’re working with fantastic groups across the region to find out and implement what works for them.
From the way our streets are designed, to how we prescribe movement before drugs, to the way we prepare children for life in the best way, physical activity can be an empowering force for change.
If we can create a community that moves, we’ll give people in every part of the North East the healthy, happy future they deserve.
Find out more
Read our strategy to see how we transform lives, communities and places through the power of movement. Or take a look at our latest impact report to see the difference we make.
If you’d like to collaborate and help us catalyse change, or just want a chat, get in touch.
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