TY - JOUR T1 - parkrun: increasing physical activity in primary care JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 483 LP - 484 DO - 10.3399/bjgp19X705641 VL - 69 IS - 687 AU - Joanna Fleming Y1 - 2019/10/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/69/687/483.abstract N2 - Increasing physical activity among the general population is a priority in the prevention and treatment of disease and ongoing disease. Primary care is well placed to promote physical activity among sedentary adults. General practice provides over 300 million patient consultations each year,1 and primary healthcare teams play a key role in encouraging patients to make positive changes to their existing physical activity levels. Substantial numbers of these consultations take place with patients who could be helped by increasing their physical activity.Prevention as a priority runs throughout The NHS Long Term Plan, and emphasises the need to expand social prescribing.2 Physical activity initiatives and exercise referral schemes are a form of social prescribing that have the potential to improve patient health and wellbeing. However, many such schemes are often limited in availability and duration, which may limit their success at establishing longer-term changes to physical activity behaviours.3parkrun is a series of free, weekly 5k events for all ages every Saturday morning, in areas of open space across the UK, as well as in over 20 countries globally. The organisation also delivers junior parkruns, which are 2k events for 4–14-year-olds and their families on a Sunday morning. The concept is simple: participants can walk, run, jog, spectate, or volunteer, meaning it is open to all, including those who are inactive or have health conditions or disabilities. There are no joining fees, no restrictions of a time-limited programme, no intimidating equipment. Just yourself, some comfy clothes and shoes, and a willingness to join in!parkrun enables participants to automatically become part of a supportive community. Once signed up, participants can opt … ER -