The battle cry comes as experts warn that laziness is killing one in six of us. Overweight and unhealthy Britons must start to exercise or face an early grave, said Health Secretary Matt Hancock last night. Sedentary lifestyles are as dangerous as smoking, experts say. Health chiefs believe Britons are 20 per cent less active than in the 1960s. The cost of the resultant health problems in the UK is put at £7.4billion a year and is placing unbearable strain on the NHS. Medical professionals are now adopting a new approach, "social prescribing" by steering patients away from medication and encouraging them to take up running, gardening and other exercise forms.
Mr Hancock, writing exclusively for the Daily Express, said: "Most of us, whatever our fitness or our age, can benefit from being more active.
"If we do nothing the physical and mental impact on individuals and the financial cost to the NHS will become ever greater.
"We have a shared responsibility for our health. The NHS has a duty to look after us and help us live healthier lives but we all have a responsibility to look after ourselves better.
"The risk of strokes, heart disease,Type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers, all increase with inactivity." More than 1.1 billion prescriptions are issued by family doctors in England each year at a cost of £9billion to treat patients who could help themselves, it is claimed.
Statistics show one in four of us would become more active if advised to get fit by a healthcare professional.
A collaboration between The Royal College of GPs and Parkrun UK is seeing family doctors prescribe 5km (three-mile) runs to overweight patients and those with chronic conditions.
There are 600 Parkruns each week across the UK which are free, open to all ages and abilities, and take place on Saturdays in public parks.
Dr Simon Tobin, a GP in Southport, Merseyside, for 25 years, said: "I worry a lot about over prescribing, over diagnosis and doctors who slavishly follow guidelines without asking the person in front of them what matters to them. I love offering lifestyle change as a possible alternative to medication.
Kelly Barton from early on at park run with Mike (Image: NC)
My patients are healthier, happier and on fewer medications
Dr Simon Tobin
"My local Parkrun has, quite simply, changed my life.
"Almost every day I invite my patients to come to Parkrun. I've had successes with people with anxiety, depression, diabetes and heart disease and those who want to improve their blood pressure or get fitter.
"My patients are healthier, happier and on fewer medications."
Guidelines recommend adults should aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity, 75 minutes of vigorous activity, or a mixture of both, every week. But most fail to get anywhere near this target. Britain's losing battle with the bulge is to blame for rocketing obesity rates with a Type 2 diabetes diagnosis now made every three minutes.
One in 10 of us aged over 40 is living with the chronic lifelong condition which can lead to blindness, amputations, heart
