The WHI Scheme
• The walking the way to Health Scheme is
an initiative of the British Heart
Foundation and the Countryside Agency.
• It began in England in October 2000 and
will run for 5years.
• The scheme aims to improve the health and
fitness of more than a million people, in
particular those who do little exercise or
who live in areas of poor health.
The Salford Scheme
• The Salford Scheme Walking for All
began in October 2001 and it is City
wide.
• The scheme has funding for two
years with a third possible.
Group Led Walks
• These will be led by trained volunteer walk
leaders.
• There should be at least 1 in each area by the end
of this year.
• There will leave from an accessible point within
the area, possibly Doctors surgery, leisure centre,
community centre.
• The group can decide on new routes , however they
must be risk assessed and mapped out by the
coordinator.
Independent Walking
Packages
• These will be specifically designed for people to
use when walking alone or with a friend.
• They will illustrate at least 2 routes in each of the
9 community committee areas.
• Each route will have been risk assessed and the
map will highlight telephone boxes, seating,
difficult terrains and other relevant information.
• The packs will only be available from clinics,
community groups or other organisations who will
take names and address`s of those who ask for
packs. This is necessary for evaluation purposes.
GP Referral Walks
• These walks will leave from local leisure centres,
led by one member of the leisure centre staff
team and a local walk leader volunteer.
• If you receive a GP referral you will be given a
programme of activities from your advisor.
Walking could be one.
• The GP referral scheme is under-going massive
change and the hope is to have the referral
scheme on offer in all leisure centres and the
walks will be included in this.
• The walks are ideal for GP referral as it is gentle
and safe for the majority of people.
The Health Benefits
• Coronary Heart Disease
• CHD is the leading single cause of premature
death for both men and women in the UK. Walking
can prevent and manage heart disease – regular
exercise can halve the risk of CHD, particularly in
men who walk briskly.
• Someone who is inactive has as great a risk of
having heart disease as someone who smokes or
who has high blood pressure or has high
cholesterol.
• The risk of having stroke is three times higher in
those who do little or no exercise.
The Health Benefits
• Weight Management
• Regular walking can help reduce
weight and maintain weight loss –
walking just one mile can burn up at
least 100 Kilo calories and walking 2
miles per day, 3 times per week can
help reduce weight by 14 pounds in 34 months
Health Benefits
• Older People
• Regular waking can help strengthen bones and
therefore reduce the risk of osteoporosis and
associated fractures – hip fractures can be
reduced by up to 50% with regular walking
• Physical activity can improve or maintain balance,
coordination and joint flexibility in older people
which prevents falls
• Walking can help reduce the pain associated with
osteoarthritis of the knee
• Lifelong exercise has been shown to lessen the
chances of developing Alzheimer's disease