This week on the blog we thought we’d have a look at the Change 4 Life programme that the Department for Health run and the new initiative they have started called the Great Swapathon.
Change 4 Life from the Department of Health
Change 4 Life is a programme that started back in 2009 and demonstrates simple steps that can be taken to improve your health and general well being. The premise of the campaign stems around the idea of Eat Well, Move More, Live Longer.
The Great Swapathon is all about helping you make small changes in your life that will make a difference – all you need to do is answer some simple questions about your current lifestyle based on diet, well being and activity levels. The outcome of these questions are a set of suggested swaps that you could make such as
- Play football with your mates in the park rather than sit indoors playing a computer game
- Put some fresh fruit on your breakfast cereal rather than sugar
- Walk around whilst talking on your mobile phone
Have you seen the results of the year long study carried out by the National Academy of Sciences yet? Their research has shown that walking for 40 minutes a few times a week helps to preserve memory and keep ageing minds on top form. The study was based on a group of 120 volunteers in the 60′s. To help ward off dementia perhaps a swap a short journey in the car for a brisk walk instead? If you are in need of inspiration of where to walk why not have a look at your local OS Explorer Map or visit the Ordnance Survey explore portal for ideas?
I’ve taken the swapathon quiz and am making some changes in my daily routine – why not have a go yourself and see what changes you could make?
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