Sign inExercise / Physical Activity / Fitness Advice
UK sources of information and / or support
Patient UK
Has an information leaflet called Physical Activity for Health.
Department of Health - healthy living section of their website
Promoting healthy lifestyles for people in England and Wales is an important governmental responsibility. The Department of Health runs initiatives to help people quit smoking, eat better and exercise more, as well as health screening projects and training and skills programmes. Lots of information and links to these initiatives are found on this site.
Physical Activity, Exercise and Cancer
Information from Cancer Research UK.
Change4Life
Make a change to help your family eat well, move more and live longer. Campaign from the NHS.
Take Life On
Find out what healthy eating and physical activity are all about.This site is designed to help you attain a healthier diet and a more active lifestyle by providing resources, advice and support on healthy eating and physical activity.
Active Scotland
Looking for ways to get active, but not sure where to start? Active Scotland is here to get you going. Put your postcode or town in the search box and they will find activities close to home, from easy to extreme. There are many ways to a more active life: choose a category for some new ideas, or explore the map and see what's available near you. They can help find active groups in your area too: clubs and teams involved in activities from archery to yoga.
British Heart Foundation National Centre for Physical Activity and Health
The BHFNC: Putting physical activity and health onto everyone's agenda. Aims to translate research evidence into practice for the promotion of physical activity for the primary and secondary prevention of diseases, particularly coronary heart disease.
Health at Work Programme from the British Heart Foundation
Promotes health and well being in the workplace. As part of the programme, members get free information, resources and practical tips on how to encourage themselves and their colleagues on getting fit and active and eating well whilst at work.
Get a Life, Get Active
This website aims to give you the information and the motivation you need to increase your level of physical activity and, by doing so, protect your health both now and in the future.
Physical Activity and Health Alliance
This is an online community website for practitioners engaged in physical activity and health across Scotland but may be of interest to all.
Foodfitness
Foodfitness is a healthy lifestyle initiative with a unique dual approach promoting increased moderate physical activity coupled with enjoyable, healthy eating. The Food and Drink Federation's (FDF) foodfitness programme was established in 1996, on behalf of the UK food and drink manufacturing industry.
Women's Sport and Fitness Foundation
To increase the health, fitness and well-being of women and girls by making physical activity an integral part of their lives, where physical activity is defined as sport and exercise.
Walking Works
Walking Works aims to encourage more people to walk to and from work, and to walk more during their working day.
Get Walking Keep Walking
Get Walking Keep Walking promotes walking in urban areas. They target inactive people and those with health problems, offering free short led walks, DIY Get Walking packs and step counters.
Join the Activaters
Healthy lifestyle messages for primary school children. It promotes the complementary benefits of healthy eating and moderate physical activity in an innovative and fun way with the aid of two cartoon families - the Activaters and the Dolittles. Their aim is to engage the public and show that a healthy lifestyle need not be dull, demanding, extreme or expensive.
Fitness
Information from Health Challenge Wales encouraging making physical activity a part of every day life.
Physical activity
A patient guide to complement the NICE guideline of the same name for health professionals.
Physical activity overview
NICE Pathways are for people who use NICE guidance. This includes health and social care professionals, public health experts, those who commission or provide health and social care services, employers and members of the public.
Inclusive Fitness Initiative
A Sport England Lottery Funded project which works with local authority fitness facilities to support them to become accessible to disabled and non-disabled people.
Kellogg's Easy Energy Evaluator
Allows individuals to calculate their current energy intake (calories), and current energy needs (often different!) assess their activity levels and monitor their food intake throughout the day, then in a few simple steps calculate what their GDA intake is - including total calories - and what it should be based on their current energy needs. It also provides realistic recommendations regarding food choices and activity levels needed to meet an individual's daily needs. The tool also includes advice on how to make simple lifestyle changes.
Energising Lives: A Guide to Promoting Physical Activity in Primary Care
Energising Lives is primarily aimed at primary care professionals but may be of interest to all.
Fitness League
A well established nationwide exercise network, sponsored by Sport England and Sport Scotland, which teaches low impact, rhythmic exercise to music.
Keep Fit Association (The)
Thousands of people get together in a spirit of fun and friendship to exercise regularly together.
Kids Exercise
Kids Exercise was formed to offer a unique reference point on keeping your kids fit, active and healthy.
ExerciseRegister.com
Find UK personal trainers and exercise coaches via town or postcode.
Further sources / more detailed information
Some non-UK sites
The following list popular non-UK health information sites with content aimed at the general public. They are mainly from the US. They have not been checked to see if information about the above topic is included but these large sites are comprehensive.
- Non-UK disease / illness sites
- Non-UK self-help / support group sites
More detailed medical information
The following list online sources of more detailed medical information, mainly from the UK. These sites are mainly aimed at health professionals, but are of interest to all. They have not been checked to see if information about the above topic is included, but information about most medical topics can usually be found.
- PatientPlus - hundreds of medical reference articles provided by Patient UK.
- Evidence Based Medicine - such as from Clinical Evidence, The Cochrane Library, etc.
- Database of UK Clinical Guidelines - from NICE, SIGN, etc.
- Medline - abstracts available from thousands of journals.
- Sites listing free online medical textbooks and journals.
- Sites listing free medical images - pictures, atlases, anatomy, skin diseases, etc.