Walk4Life puts its best foot forward

Walk4Life launches this month. Part of the government’s Change4Life initiative to get people more active, look out for ITV's television promotion on the 26 September.

As a strategic partner of the Department of Health ,the MHF are backing the idea. ‘It’s a major contributor to our own million man initiative,’ said MHF CEO Peter Baker. ‘We’re trying to get a million older men more active between now and the 2012 Olympics. Walking is the perfect thing to do.’

The Walk4Life website couldn’t be simpler. Co-ordinated by Walk England, it brings together thousands of walking routes and details of led group walks from multiple walking organisations in one postcode searchable database. Website users will also be able to share details of their own favourite walks and set themselves walking goals and challenges.

Walk4Life believe that people who don’t currently walk much need to be reminded of the benefits and encouraged to ‘trial’ walk. A massive programme of events will soon be beginning to remind us all that walking is the ideal way for people to get more active and brings a multitude of benefits. As well as being healthy, it’s easy, free and better for the environment than most other forms of transportation.

The campaign already has backing across several government departments and non government backers alongside the MHF include the British Heart Foundation, Transport for London and Living Streets.

Commercial partners include Mars Petcare, which is launching ‘Walkies’, a promotion to encourage dog owners to walk more with their pets; ASDA, which is promoting Walk4Life and the new website via a two-page customer magazine article; and the Fitness Industry Association (FIA), whose network of gyms and leisure centres played a big part in Let’s Dance for Change4Life a few months ago.

Tracking will be carried out to measure campaign targets including the target of a 5% increase in awareness of Walk4Life amongst Change4Life families (currently around 25%) and 50,000 walking ‘trials’ completed.

However, the most important objective, say the organisers, is to make Walk4Life as big as possible – and every Change4Life partner is invited to get involved in whatever way is most appropriate for you. What could you do?

• More on malehealth
• Walk4Life website
• NHS tools for supporting organisations