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UK Chief Medical Officers' Physical Activity Guidelines

The UK Chief Medical Officers' Physical Activity Guidelines recommends the following level of activity for all age groups as shown below.

Summary of Guidelines by age group

Active Birmingham Activity finder (ABAF)

As part of the Creating an Active Birmingham Strategy, people across Birmingham have made it clear that they want activities to be inclusive, accessible, and affordable for everyone. Residents felt we must “ensure people from all backgrounds have access to Physical Activity opportunities, lots of free opportunities to help reduce barriers to being physically active." That’s why we have introduced the Active Birmingham Activity Finder (ABAF).

The ABAF is an online platform that makes it easy to find physical activity sessions anywhere in Birmingham. It can be used to easily search for a particular kind of session, or search for all sessions close to you on a map, or all sessions at a particular venue.

The ABAF currently has over 1100 activities listed on it and aims to address challenges related to physical activity, including challenges faced by residents and by providers.

It can be used to specify sessions for people of a particular age or gender, or filter for accessibility for people with different needs. The search can be limited to free sessions and users are able to see prices for sessions which incur a charge.

The collaboration between Birmingham City Council, Sport Birmingham, The Active Wellbeing society, and the Canal & River Trust, is a tool designed to help residents:

• find activities (both online and in person) that suit their needs and preferences.
• get directions for walking, cycling, or using public transport to reach parks, community centres, and other activity locations.
• access information about local physical activity services and facilities.
• discover what’s happening in green and urban spaces, including activities run by local groups such as the Active Wellbeing Society (TAWS).

Culturally Competent Physical Activity Toolkit (CCPAT)

The CCPAT, translated in key languages spoken in Birmingham (Urdu, Punjabi, Bengali, and Farsi), takes a culturally sensitive and competent approach to promote recommended physical activity levels, aligning with UK PA guidelines.

The toolkit will be launched soon.

Every Step Matters (Daily Mile Tracks)

The Daily Mile UK was originally created to improve the health and wellbeing of children, with tracks installed in schools, making it safer and more convenient for children to run, jog or walk as a daily source of physical activity.

The project aims to encourage people to make time for 15 minutes of physical activity (walking, jogging, wheeling, or running) at their own pace every day, to experience the benefits of regular exercise. All the tracks mark out accessible and safe routes to follow.

LegacyWM installed one-mile tracks marked out in eight parks in the city, along with a period of activation that was completed in 2023. The tracks remain in the parks to support active lives.

The locations of the tracks focus on wards with low levels of physical activity.​ The tracks have been co-produced with residents, community organisations and system partners.

The tracks are in the below parks.

For more information about other parks in Birmingham, free activities within them, and how to improve your health with nature please use see What is green social prescribing? | Improving your health with nature

Page last updated: 14 November 2024