Website of the Department of Health

Be active, be healthy: a plan for getting the nation moving

Be active, be healthy establishes a new framework for the delivery of physical activity alongside sport for the period leading up to the London 2012 Olympic Games, Paralympic Games and beyond.  Programmes outlined in the plan will contribute to Government’s ambition of getting 2 million more people active by 2012 and have been designed to leave a lasting legacy from the Games.

Be active, be healthy also sets out new ideas for Local Authorities and Primary Care Trusts to help determine and respond to the needs of their local populations, providing and encouraging more physical activity, which will benefit individuals and communities, as well as delivering overall cost savings. To achieve our ambitions for a healthier, fitter nation we will need a world-class delivery infrastructure for physical activity. Much is already in place. We will resource those elements of the existing delivery network that can contribute to the wider delivery of physical activity and remain fully aligned with the delivery of sport.

For the first time ever the plan publishes the NHS costs of physical inactivity for every PCT in England, averaging £5 million per PCT every year - almost 1000 hip replacements per PCT. This information is located in Annex 1 of Be active, be healthy.

• Download Be active, be healthy a plan for getting the nation moving - fully accessible file uploaded 16 February 2009 (PDF, 4041K)
• Press release 11 February 2009: Government plan - get millions moving (opens new window)