Issue - meetings

This paper highlights to the Board the Kirklees Director of Public Health (DPH) Annual Report 2024/25, entitled Physical Activity Matters.

Contact: Rachel Spencer-Henshall, Executive Director for Public Health and Corporate Resources, Lucy Wearmouth, Head of Improving Population Health, Owen Richardson, Data and Insight Enablement Lead for Public Health, and Martin Gonzalez, Public Health Manager.

Lucy Wearmouth, Head of Improving Population Health and Martin Gonzales, Public Health Manager, presented the Director of Public Health Annual Report, on behalf of Rachel Spencer-Henshall, Executive Director for Public Health.

In summary, the Board was informed that the Director for Public Health chooses the focus of the annual report, which is an independent professional statement about the health of the local community and is separate to the political decision-making process.   The report aims to be a vehicle to start conversations and system change.  It is a key resource to inform the stakeholders of priorities and also to recommend actions to improve and protect the health of communities.

The Board was informed that this year’s report is titled Physical Activity Matters, with a particular focus on understanding inequalities related to physical activity. The aim is to develop a system-wide understanding of physical activity, including the factors that influence participation and the associated disparities across different population groups.

The Board was advised that the report is not intended to provide solutions. Instead, it outlines a set of proposed next steps and is expected to be published online shortly. Once available, the report will be shared with Board members. Ongoing work will continue to provide deeper insight into local communities, with the aim that the collective findings will inform and drive local system-wide actions.

The Board was reminded of the importance and of the wide-ranging benefits of physical activity. While the report does not include a formal definition, physical activity in this context refers to any form of movement that involves energy expenditure, essentially, moving the body.

Physical activity plays a vital role in the prevention and management of many health conditions, including cardiovascular and mental health, and in reducing the risk of chronic diseases. There is also the broader added value of physical activity in enhancing individual wellbeing and fostering social inclusion and bringing people communities together.  The report aims to reflect these wider social benefits.  A quote from Dame Sally Davies, former Chief Medical Officer sums it up.  “If physical activity was a drug, we would refer to it as a miracle cure due to the great many illnesses it can prevent and help treat”.

The Board was informed that the report includes the Chief Medical Officer’s guidance on how much physical activity different groups of people need to take each week.  This is across the life course ranging from children and young people, adults, older people, people with disabilities, and pregnant women.

For example, people aged 5 -18 years should aim for 60 plus minutes per day across the week, and adults should aim for 150 minutes of moderate activity per week.   This is both informal and formal physical activity. 

For adults, aiming for 150 minutes of moderate activity per week can be quite overwhelming as a definition.  It is therefore important to emphasise that some exercise is good, more is better for the people who are most physically inactive. Just doing some physical activity can have health  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10