DORSET health professionals are to encourage everyone to move about more  -  as a normal part of life, rather than something out of the ordinary.

The county’s health and wellbeing board heard this week that two stakeholder workshops had looked at some of the problems people imagine which creates barriers to exercise.

For some it meant that being sedentary was now a normal state – with taking exercise perceived as something which required additional cost or effort and is ‘out of the ordinary.’

Rupert Lloyd from Public Health Dorset said the focus of some future work would be to shift that thinking and find more opportunities to build movement into daily life, without the need for it to be ‘formal’ exercise. He said simple steps like walking more would help to increase physical activity levels without any major changes to lifestyle.

Dorset GPs have recently been encouraged to refer obese patients on their lists to Active Dorset for advice and guidance about managing weight. In just one small practice 700 had been referred.

Dr Forbes Watson, chairman of the Dorset Clinical Commissioning group, said that links between obesity and lack of exercise did not only cause problems for heart health but also meant additional risk of cancer.

He suggested that public sector employers in Dorset could take on the physical activity challenge for their workforces which would give the positive message of leading by example.

Dorset Council leader Cllr Spencer Flower told the meeting he would discuss ways of using the authority’s 82 councillors to help spread the message with a special meeting to discuss the topic.