cadence comments about obesity

17 Nov 2008

Streets infested with children

If it was not for the word 'infested' this could be a positive headline. During Cadence's consultation on children's play in Somerset someone said that 'the message to children and young people, from adults, about their place in the public realm is very confusing - they want them away from the TV and Playstations, but not playing outside near their homes'. It always seemed a succint way of capturing the current confusion in the public discourse about the youth of today. The person who came up with this quote worked for Barnardo's and it is their survey that found that 35% agreed with the proposition that 'nowadays it feels like the streets are infested with children'... more

17 Oct 2008

Olympic parade and school sport

This week the Government released a press release saying that record number are now doing PE and school sport. This is a success story, but does it have anything at all to do with the Olympics? ... more

10 Oct 2008

Olympic legacy and financial crisis

With high profile Premier League football teams' sponsors going bust or being bailed out (if there is a difference between those two events) the implications of the credit crunch on sport have already been highlighted in the media. There has also been some discussion of how the 2012 Olympics will need to be cheaper/nationalised/smaller. More worrying is that it sounds like the financial crisis is also offering the opportunity for the planners of the Games to wriggle out of their commitments to grassroots sport and increased participation ... more

8 Sep 2008

Team sports to blame for obesity?

A BBC report on Loughborough University research has suggested that, 'an over-emphasis on competitive team sports in schools is being blamed for "marginalising" the wider efforts to promote physical exercise'. The Government say they are 'bemused' ... more

9 Jun 2008

Healthy town = Eco Town ?

When is an Eco Town a Healthy Town? Well probably when a local authority employs a good bid writer and as a result they get bit of cash for each initiative. The Department of Health are inviting bids to a new £30 million Healthy Communities Challenge Fund. Which spread over 3 years and the whole of England perhaps is not so exciting after all ... more

20 Aug 2007

Sustrans Play Routes

cadence have been helping Sustrans develop the idea of Play Routes. Recently information was sent to all English local authorities and it has generated a great deal of interest. All the play strategy consultations cadence has been involved in have picked up on the importance of cycling and walking .... more

13 Aug 2007

Link between car use and obesity

The Institute for European Environmental Policy has published a piece of work that cadence welcome suggesting a link between obesity and increased car use and decreased walking and cycling. This sounds sensible and a welcome contribution to a debate that is too often dominated by the role of diet. But, fan as cadence are of moves to make cycling and walking more attractive and safer, there is still a part of the obesity debate that nobody appears to want to get their teeth in to ..... more

30 Jul 2007

Link between asthma and obesity

Research recently reported by doctors from King's College London has revealed a possible link between asthma and obesity. According to the research cells in the lungs of asthmatics produce not only proteins that cause the condition but also others that are known to increase appetite... more from James Rimmer