The Design Council is championing Active by Design in the UK – to address one of the most serious health issues facing modern society: increasing levels of poor health and the development of certain chronic diseases, brought on by a combination of lack of physical activity and poor diet.
Active by Design promotes the use of good #design to encourage greater levels of daily physical activity in buildings and public spaces, and increase access to healthy and nutritious food.
The need for this is being seen in vastly increased levels of obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, type 2 diabetes, some cancers and even, possibly, dementia. This is coming at an enormous financial cost, most of which needs to be borne by an increasingly stretched National Health Service.
The Design Council want to be a catalyst for change, finding new linkages and connecting aspects of our planning system, health service and the built environment sector, both public and private, where few currently exist and in ways that have not been done before. They believe it will improve the health of the nation, enrich the lives of individuals and provide both social and economic benefits to our cities and towns, and to the NHS. There is no single panacea. It is a BIG AMBITION that will be solved by many simple, practical solutions.
SBNF recognises the potential to improve transport, movement and access to healthy food on Shoreham Beach. If you would like to support our draft policies on walking, #cycling, recreational facilities, fitness circuits, or healthy food providers - please get involved.