A new initiative backed by the National Health Service (NHS) aims to encourage Britons to increase their physical activity by rewarding them with incentives for walking 20 minutes per day. The program, named Movement 26.2, is scheduled to launch in January and is led by Olympic medallist Sir Brendan Foster and Air Miles inventor Sir Keith Mills.
The goal of the program is to motivate millions to achieve a daily target of 20 minutes of walking, which organizers equate to roughly 26.2 miles over a month, the distance of a marathon. Discussions are reportedly underway with retailers to establish a loyalty program that could offer rewards such as free coffees and cinema tickets for meeting these walking goals.
Users will likely access the program through an app or website, where they can earn digital badges and medals, similar to reward systems used by other popular applications. Sir Brendan Foster indicated that the program's approach involves encouraging, challenging, supporting, and rewarding participants, with initial rewards being digital, such as maintaining a walking streak. Over time, more tangible rewards like medals, T-shirts, discounts, and other rewards are anticipated.
This initiative comes as current NHS guidance encourages adults to aim for 150 minutes of exercise per week, adhering to World Health Organization recommendations. However, statistics suggest that only about half of middle-aged Britons manage to complete a single brisk 10-minute walk monthly. Low physical activity levels are estimated to cost the UK approximately £7.4 billion annually, with about £1 billion attributed to NHS spending, due to sedentary behavior's links to serious health issues like cancer, obesity, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes.
Sir Brendan described the initiative as creating "the biggest marathon in history, but one that's open to absolutely everybody," emphasizing that it requires no travel, special equipment, or entry fee, and can begin from one's doorstep. The program draws inspiration from Sir Keith Mills's experience with the Air Miles rewards program.
NHS England chief executive Sir Jim Mackey stated that the initiative is designed to make movement a simple and achievable part of everyday life, with the potential to improve physical and mental well-being and contribute to longer, healthier lives. A smaller-scale test of the concept in Ebbsfleet, which offered vouchers and free coffees for walking and cycling, reportedly paved the way for this national rollout.
However, some experts express reservations. Dr. Bismillah Sehar, a public health lecturer at Birmingham City University, noted that while initiatives encouraging walking can support healthier behaviors, they may not be sufficient on their own. Dr. Sehar suggested that such programs need to be part of a broader strategy that addresses barriers like safe walking environments, access to green spaces, time constraints, and socioeconomic inequalities.
Existing NHS advice already recommends a brisk 10-minute walk daily for various health benefits. Research from Public Health England indicates that a 10-minute daily walk can improve physical fitness, mood, and reduce the risk of early death by approximately 15 percent. Further research from the University of Leicester suggests that even modest increases in daily walking could extend life expectancy, with a 30-minute brisk walk potentially adding over a year to women's lives and up to two and a half years to men's lives.