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We're investing £1.3 million in eight charities to tackle inactivity in people with long-term health conditions.

Five years on and 50kg lighter, Bob Swindell is a changed man.

The 48-year-old was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 2013 and is now a prime example of how physical activity can help manage long-term health conditions.

That’s why we’ve allocated £1.3 million to members of the Richmond Group of Charities for a series of pilot projects that could improve the health of millions of people.

Diabetes UK is one of the eight charities that will benefit from the funding, with Bob a shining light of how exercise can improve the lives of those with the disease.

Since diagnosis, he has lost 50kg and now uses exercise and diet to control his diabetes to such an extent that he no longer has to use medication.

Running has been the key for Bob, with several marathons now under his belt and a role as parkrun champion for diabetes on his CV.

“I’d be the first to admit that I didn’t have the healthiest lifestyle,” he revealed. “I’d been feeling run down, was unfit and had been putting on weight for years.

“But it was using the Know Your Risk tool at a Diabetes UK roadshow event that gave me the nudge I needed to see my GP and begin making some changes to my health.

“My diagnosis came as a shock but without it who knows what my health would be like today, or what serious complications I may have faced.”

Bob is among the 15 million people living in England with one or more common long-term health condition.

Jennie Price, Sport England chief executive said:

Together we want to help people answer those questions they might have about which activities are suitable, or how much exercise they should do

He is an outlier though, with the majority of those people statistically less likely to be physically active and studies showing they experience more barriers to being so.

This £1.3 million investment hopes to allow more people to be like Bob, with Age UK, Alzheimer’s Society, Breast Cancer Now, British Lung Foundation, MS Society, Rethink Mental Illness and Stroke Association joining Diabetes UK in conducting projects to identify and challenge the barriers to activity that people face.

“Exercising when you have a long-term health condition can be hugely beneficial to your mental and physical wellbeing but it can also be daunting,” said Jennie Price, our chief executive.

“We have chosen to work with the leading health charities to help people get active, because the charities already have the confidence of the people living with long-term health conditions.

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