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Up & Active's Health Week was a Hit!

Tuesday, 28th November 2017


As part of a Lancashire wide initiative, Pendle’s Up & Active Team hosted a very successful Health Week to encourage people of all ages to get fitter and healthier.

For seven full days in September a whole host of free, fun, information and activities was organised, including a Family Sports Day, Tai Chi in the park, health checks, Weight Management Roadshows, lunchtime walks, Healthy Eating/Green Day, Pendle Hill walk, Walking Football Tournament, school workshops and taster fitness classes.

Pendle’s Up & Active Manager, Clive Escreet, said: “The Health Week was a huge success and we hope to do something similar next year. It was a great opportunity for staff to get out in the community to talk to people and raise the profile of Up and Active’s services; it was an ideal chance to engage with our target audience of families, young women and hard to reach groups and we gained a significant number of self-referrals on to our structured programmes.

“We engaged with over 2,540 people during the week, talking to people about getting healthy and offering advice. We carried out almost 100 health checks at the various open days and supported a total of six community events.

“And a total of 1,918 miles were completed through 33 activities as part of the ‘Your Mile, Your Way’ challenge, which is still continuing as an ongoing challenge in some schools and throughout the wider community.”

The Health Week started with a Family Sports Day at Seedhill Athletics and Fitness Centre in Nelson and throughout the week there were Weight Management Roadshows at health centres in Nelson, Colne and Earby, where members of the Up & Active team handed out information on weight management, health, well-being and Up & Active’s services and programmes.

There was a Healthy Eating/ Green Day at the Good Life, Hodge House Allotments, Reedyford Road, Nelson, with cookery demonstrations, grow your own workshops, craft sessions and a smoothie bike.

There was also plenty of walking activities, including a group walk up Pendle Hill, a Walking Football Tournament and daily 30-60 minute lunchtime walks.

Tai Chi taster classes and health checks held in Victoria Park, Nelson, were very well received, with more than 420 people turning up to try their hand at the martial art.

As part of the scheduled events and activities, a number of themes were used, including A Mile A Day; With the slogan ‘Your Mile, Your Way’, people were encouraged to try and complete a mile every day this week, whether it was walking, running or cycling.

And there was an opportunity to try a range of different 15 minute fitness classes at all Pendle Leisure Trust’s centres – Pendle Wavelengths, Pendle Leisure Centre and West Craven Sports Centre.

The Up & Active team educated young schoolchildren about weight management and healthy eating through fun games and activities and the Health Week ended with the Up & Active team getting involved in Pedal Pendle at the Steven Burke Cycle & Sports Hub, Barrowford.