Greater Manchester on track to be the world’s first Daily Mile City

Elaine presented Andy with a special pair of ‘The Daily Mile’ plimsolls to commemorate the city-region’s pledge to become more active and secure the fastest improvement to the health and wellbeing of Greater Manchester’s 2.8 million citizens by becoming the world’s first Daily Mile City-Region. This sets a target for all nurseries, schools, universities and work places to adopt The Daily Mile.

Currently 25% of Greater Manchester adults are inactive with 38% not active enough to benefit their health whilst 28% of children in Greater Manchester are classified as overweight or obese. With inactivity costing the NHS in Greater Manchester an estimated £26.7million per year, Greater Manchester partners are working together to get Greater Manchester Moving. There is compelling evidence to show that physical activity can greatly improve a person’s mental and physical wellbeing and The Daily Mile is an activity that can done by everyone regardless of age, ability or personal circumstance.

The Daily Mile is a simple, free and fun initiative where children and adults run, jog or walk for fifteen minutes every day. In this time, most people will average a mile or more.

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said: “We do things differently here in Greater Manchester and we are showing this by being the world’s first city-region committed to The Daily Mile. We are ambitious in both what we want to achieve and to improve the lives of everyone who lives and works across our city-region.

“I am a big believer in physical activity because it has a positive impact on both physical and mental health, which is exactly what The Daily Mile sets out to achieve. I want to give young people the best active start in life and it is very promising to see that we already have 43% of schools in Greater Manchester on board with the initiative.

"Currently 38% of adults in Greater Manchester are not active enough to benefit their health, but we are working to improve this. I am confident that with the introduction of The Daily Mile, aligned with the ambitions of the Greater Manchester Strategy and Greater Manchester Moving, we can achieve our goals of seeing a great improvement to the health, wealth and wellbeing of everyone in our city-region.”

Elaine Wyllie, Founder of The Daily Mile, said: “I started The Daily Mile when I was a head teacher in 2012 to improve the fitness and increase physical activity levels amongst our students. It’s now spread to over 3,100 schools worldwide. Workplaces are now starting to catch on to the benefits. It’s not just physical fitness; participants have shown improvements in attainment, concentration and quality of sleep.”

Sarah Price, Executive Lead for Population Health and Commissioning at Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership, said: “Our vision is to achieve the greatest and fastest improvement to the health and wellbeing of people in Greater Manchester. We currently face significant health challenges and inequalities, but whether it’s heart disease or mental health, becoming more active can make a big difference.

Walking, jogging, or running a mile each day is an easy way to fit physical exercise into busy family life – everyone can get involved, from children to grandparents. That’s why Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership is proud to support a region wide commitment to the Daily Mile.”

Matt Stocks, Senior Development Manager at GreaterSport, said: “GreaterSport are extremely proud and excited about Greater Manchester becoming the world’s first city-region committed to The Daily Mile. We strongly believe that The Daily Mile can greatly improve a person’s mental, emotional, social and physical wellbeing. We hope that this award will inspire all Greater Manchester residents to walk, jog or run their Daily Mile!”

Barry Horne, Chief Executive of English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS), said: “The Daily Mile is a great initiative, and we’re keen to make sure that young disabled people in Greater Manchester join in. Research shows that many people feel put off from taking part in sport or cannot access all the opportunities available so a community programme like this can be really valuable in engaging more disabled people. Our vision is that disabled people are active for life and The Daily Mile has the power to reach young people of all ages!

“Statistics indicate that disabled people are twice as likely as non-disabled people to be inactive. We hope with more inclusive and accessible activities like this, we can see a significant improvement on this statistic over the coming years. Getting more disabled and non-disabled people taking part together in an environment they know and feel comfortable in is a great starting point. This is what’s great about The Daily Mile challenge, it promotes togetherness and inclusiveness.”