High-level representatives from London Boroughs as well as physical activity, nature and health organisations came together to discuss the impact of Beat the Street, the physical activity intervention that works, in London this week.
Taking place at Twickenham Stadium on Wednesday 19 October, Intelligent Health’s London showcase demonstrated what London boroughs could gain from Beat the Street. The intervention has helped more than 73,000 people get active across London this year and 300,000 across the UK.
The event featured speakers from key stakeholders including The National Charity Partnership of Diabetes UK, the British Heart Foundation and Tesco, the London Borough of Hounslow, Newham NHS CCG, Decathlon, Autism Hounslow and The Wildlife Trust.
With 29,000 residents currently taking part in the intervention Dr Imran Choudhury, Director of Public Health for the London Borough of Hounslow, began the event by suggesting that: “Beat the Street will become a mainstream public health programme in the future.”
Talking about how the programme has been developed to support GP practices combat inactivity Wayne Farah — Vice Chair of Newham Clinical Commissioning Group — said: “Beat the Street is not only important for what it does, but for what it inspires — helping us raise awareness among both our patients and our GPs on the importance of physical activity.”
Key evidence was shared including how the intervention provided sustainable results over a seven-month period. The most dramatic impact was with participants who reported no to little activity levels at the start having the biggest increase in their sustained activity levels seven months later.
Alex Davis, Prevention Programme Manager for The National Charity Partnership who are funding 6 programmes across the UK, said: “We were attracted to Beat the Street because it was easy for people to play and Intelligent Health embedded evaluation throughout the programme from start to finish.”
Dr William Bird MBE, CEO of Intelligent Health explained the importance of working with partners: “We have been fortunate to work with innovative partners who have helped us create a physical activity intervention that delivers their outcomes and is fun for residents.
“With results showing statistically significant drops in inactivity levels across a population, Beat the Street has already had a big impact in the London boroughs it has been delivered in and now we want to help get the whole capital moving.”
