£4m health costs of lazy people

PEOPLE choosing to laze about cost health bosses in Oldham more than £4 million last year.

According to the Department of Health (DoH) physical inactivity cost NHS Oldham £4.2 million tackling diseases linked to physical inactivity.

Nationally £770 million was paid out, with the biggest bill of £18.1 million in Hampshire.

Oldham Council has listed reducing obesity across the borough as one of its key priorities.

More than nine in 10 Oldham children take part in two hours of physical exercise a week in school — up from 68 per cent in 2005, according to Government figures. The current 93 per cent achievement puts Oldham in the top handful of local authorities.

Ministers say despite England being a sport-loving nation people are no where near as active as they should be.

The Tories have accused Government of slashing sports budgets despite the huge sum having to be spent on healthcare.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport denied the claims saying millions had been ploughed into sports and getting people active since 1997.

Alan Higgins, director of public health at NHS Oldham said: “We are working hard to tackle the problems associated with a lack of physical activity and the health implications this leads to.

“NHS Oldham has increasingly invested in prevention and well-being.

“We work with other members of the Sport and Physical Activity Alliance partnership, we are developing an Oldham Partnership strategy to change the environment in which children grow and develop so that they are more likely to be physically active and a healthy weight.”