LONDON: British tennis legend Andy Murray has announced an agreement with the United Kingdom’s public sector based organization National Health Service (NHS), which will be celebrating its 70th anniversary through its campaigns called Change4Life and The Daily Mile.
Murray will be endorsing the importance of living an active lifestyle in these campaigns across Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
The NHS has mentioned growing levels of obesity in adults and children as a major health issue as it can lead to a number of serious conditions, such as Type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, some types of cancer and stroke. Obesity can also affect quality of life and lead to psychological problems, apart from being responsible for 30,000 deaths every year in the UK and is said to be as harmful as tobacco.
Reportedly, it spends £10 billion ($13.09 billion), which constitutes nearly 10% of its budget, in getting diabetes treated alone, which becomes a financial burden.
As a result, Change4Life targets to provide assistance to families in making small, affordable yet significant improvements to their diet and activity levels.
Murray commented on the announcement: “I am a huge supporter of the NHS, but we all know it is under pressure. If we can increase levels of activity as a nation, it helps improve mood, self-esteem and energy, but it will also reduce the strain on the NHS by keeping us healthier. It’s especially important to instil these habits early and support and inspire young people to maintain them as they go through their teenage years.
“I am proud to be supporting Change4Life. It is a simple initiative which helps families improve their diets and get active.”
Professor Stephen Powis, Medical director of NHS England, said: “As we mark the NHS’s 70th birthday, we all want to celebrate the profound impact it has on people throughout their lives. It’s great that so many people want to say thank you for how the NHS has helped them, including sport superstars like Andy Murray.
“I’m delighted that Andy Murray will also be supporting Change4Life, a fantastic campaign by Public Health England to encourage parents and their children to be more active and to eat healthily – I’m sure with Andy’s support more people than ever will take note and make a change for the better.”
Dr Alison Tedstone, chief nutritionist and head of physical activity at the National Health Service, said: “Getting people more active is essential for a healthy lifestyle and it’s great to see a champion like Andy Murray working to raise the profile of physical activity. Our Change4Life campaigns have already helped millions of children have a healthier start in life by making physical activity a fun, easy choice and supporting families to be active together.”
