ukactive's Huw Edwards urges incoming Johnson government to invest in physical activity

Ukactive has urged the incoming Conservative government to invest heavily in physical activity in order to improve the nation's health.

In an open letter, ukactive CEO Huw Edwards called on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to correct the "lack of attention" from previous governments towards exercise and to use physical activity as part of a preventative health care system.

"We note the commitment from the Prime Minister to turn his attention to domestic issues, now that the Brexit stalemate is coming to an end," Edwards writes in the letter.

"The lack of attention from previous governments to physical activity has contributed to the current crisis in public health, with physical inactivity now recognised as the fourth greatest cause of disease and disability in the UK – linked to one in every six deaths and costing the economy £20bn annually.

"The new government must put physical activity at the heart of the prevention agenda for our health service, recognising the full potential of the physical activity sector to deliver against this and other urgent societal challenges."

He also highlighted ukactive's four main policy calls, made ahead of the election in October.

These are to regenerate the high street through physical activity, opening schools as community hubs outside of term-time, improving accessibility to active travel and supporting older adults to access physical activity.