Public Health England (PHE) and the NHS have kicked off the new year with a campaign to encourage people to live a healthier lifestyle. From losing weight, getting active or quitting smoking, people are being encouraged to access tools and support to make healthy changes and feel better.

The Better Health new year campaign is underpinned by PHE's recent survey of more than 5,000 adults in England, that found that one-third said they were exercising less last year due to the to the coronavirus pandemic.

To mark the launch of the new campaign, which falls under the existing Better Health banner, PHE are encouraging healthcare professionals to discuss the benefits of getting active with their patients, to increase their health resilience.

Healthcare professionals can play a leading role in supporting patients who are struggling to keep active, with one in four people stating that they would be more active if they were advised by a GP or nurse.

At a time when the NHS is under immense pressure, supporting people to keep active can reduce their risk of becoming deconditioned and developing long terms conditions. A range of tools and resources to help HCPs facilitate these conversations are now available on PHE's campaign resource centre.

Jamie Blackshaw, National Physical Activity Lead at PHE, comments: "After months of isolation and reduced levels of activity at home, more people are at risk of deconditioning and developing long term conditions.

"Despite all the uncertainties, we do know that exercise is good for most people. Encouraging patients to move more each day and build physical activity into their everyday lives, can go a long way to increasing their health resilience.

"If you're working as a healthcare professional or manage a team of professionals, you can help make a difference to patients' lives by providing brief advice on physical activity where possible. PHE provides free training and resources that can increase your knowledge in this area and give you the confidence to have these conversations."

Healthcare professionals can also access:

• free e-learning about the benefits of physical activity in preventing and managing a range of common conditions and supporting general health.
• online tool Moving Medicine for conversations guides, ranging from one minute, five minutes and plus, to help patients with long term conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and MSK conditions.