New initiative launched to get Britons active

The government has allocated new funding to initiatives designed to help people across Britain to get active in order to improve their health.

More than five million pounds will be spent by the Department of Health on efforts to encourage children and families to exercise more, with three million pounds going to Change 4 Life Sports Clubs, 1.1 million pounds to the Street Play project and one million pounds to various walking initiatives.

Currently, it is understood that only one-third of boys and one-quarter of girls meet the recommendation for at least 60 minutes of physical activity a day, while almost 30 percent of adults are active for less than 30 minutes per week.

Public health minister Anna Soubry said: "We were all inspired by the Olympics and Paralympics and as part of their legacy we want to encourage everyone – children and adults – to get active and get healthy."

This comes as part of wider efforts to curb the rising prevalence of obesity among people in the UK, which has increased sharply since the 1990s.