Ipswich Riverhills Health Club and Spa owner Dave Courteen calls on Government to incentivise health and wellbeing

With millions of Brits preparing to get into their New Year fitness regimens, an Ipswich gym boss has called on the Government to prioritise people’s health and wellbeing.

Dave Courteen, owner of Riverhills Health Club and Spa in Bramford Road, wants to see more done to incentivise and allow people from all backgrounds to get fit and feel the benefits of exercise.

His call comes amid what he sees as ‘Britain’s worsening health crisis’.

It follows UK-based non-profit ukactive releasing the results of a survey of 2,000 adults, where 55 per cent of respondents stated they joined a gym to tackle both short and long-term health conditions.

Mr Courteen said: “Physical activity can have a transformative effect not only on our physical health but our mental health and wellbeing.

“With increasing rates of issues like anxiety and depression as well as the lasting physical impacts of the pandemic, we should be striving to remove barriers to support people, regardless of background, to exercise and Government investment is key to this.

“Gyms like ours across the country are providing a valuable service for a wide range of communities and are part of the solution to supporting the NHS and delivering a meaningful shift in the health of the nation.

“With the impact of the pandemic, global energy crisis, high interest rates and rising inflation, we are an industry that has been hit the hardest over the last three years but has yet to receive the support enjoyed by other industries from the government.

“This is short sighted given the tangible health benefits an active lifestyle provides.”

Mr Courteen said he was aware of Britain’s ‘worsening health status’, with about 7.71 million Brits awaiting treatment on the NHS.

This means about 35 million working days were lost in the last 12 months due to sickness or injury, he noted.

Mr Courteen added: “And that’s having a knock-on effect on the economy too to the tune of £43b a year – prioritising the nation’s health is more important now than ever.”

Huw Edwards, the chief executive of ukactive, said gyms and leisure centres will be busy this month as people plan to begin, or continue, their fitness journeys.

He felt they were not just locations to build physical fitness but act as fundamental places to allow people to shape their health and wellbeing and manage a range of conditions.

Mr Edwards added: “The green shoots of how we seek to improve our poor public health lie in these instinctive public motivations.

“That’s why it’s so important that any current or future Government makes the link to fitness and leisure facilities and businesses as a solution to many of the public health issues facing the nation today.”