Leeds - can you manage a 10 minute walk a week?

New data from the Department for Transport also shows that 25 per cent of people said they had not walked for ten consecutive minutes in the last month. The figures come from the Active Lives Survey, an annual questionnaire which asks people over 16 in every local authority in England about how much sport and physical activity they do.

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In Leeds, 66 per cent of people did manage a weekly ten minute stroll, which is lower than the national average of 68 per cent. But 30 per cent of people managed ten minutes of continuous walking at least five times a week.

In Leeds, around two fifths of people surveyed walked for leisure once a week. This was lower than the 43 per cent who took at least one weekly walk for travel.

The NHS recommends that all adults take 150 minutes of moderate exercise, such as brisk walking, every week. It says regular walking reduces the risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes, as well as helping maintain a healthy weight.

The latest figures from Public Health England show that 61 per cent of adults in Leeds are obese or overweight. An NHS report on physical activity found people are leading less active lives than in previous decades, due to factors such as increased car ownership and fewer manual jobs.

“For most people, the easiest way to get moving is to make activity part of everyday life, like walking or cycling instead of using the car to get around,” the guidance says.