Northwich is using technology to help young people get active locally

Active Cheshire has partnered with the developer of Tag Tap AR to offer free challenges in and around Northwich from today as part of A mile a day keeps the doctor away programme.

The goal of A mile a day keeps the doctor away is to tackle childhood obesity in targeted areas of Northwich.

Tag Tap AR is free to download from your App store and works on Apple and Android smartphones. The users walk to collect the pointers which awards points. Hundreds of location pointers have been dropped around Northwich and are refreshed every 24 hours. Several themes will be proposed during the year (Easter, Autumn, Halloween, Christmas and more). Its ambition is to entice more people outdoors – through the use of technology. 

With Obesity rates in both reception-aged and year 6 school children has increased by a staggering amount, children’s mental and physical wellbeing is a major priority. That’s why A mile a day keeps the doctor away is proud to be supporting this initiative. 

Peter Hunt, who founded Tag Tap AR explained, “TagTap was created through our own inactivity thrown at us through the initial lockdowns, watching our own children become less active, more stressed and agitated.

The difference when we were allowed to go for walks and be more active was incredible, not only a rise in all our physical levels but the enjoyment as well. We needed this more often so we decided to mix what the children were doing with technology and the physical side of getting out, explore and have fun.

Through this we hope to really make a difference and cut these alarming physical and mental statistics down. And not only in our children but as a family, we could all use that extra motivation”

Roberta Pomponio, project manager for A mile a day keeps the doctor away and mental health lead at Active Cheshire said “studies tell us that gamification boosts physical activity and healthy behaviours in both children and adults by creating a feeling of competition among participants.

These are only some of the reasons why we are delighted to support the roll out of the local pilot of Tag TAP AR in Northwich.”

Laura Clare, Program Manager for Northwich Care Communities, says “We’re very lucky as Northwich Care Community to be introduced to and now have access to this App to help support our families become more active in a fun way.  I’m sure it will be a huge benefit to families in Northwich who want to explore the local area in a novel way”.

If you are looking for something to do with the kids during the Easter holidays and the summer, try Tag Tap Ar:

https://tagtapar.co.uk/

For information on A mile a day keeps the doctor away contact Roberta Pomponio, Strategic partnership manager for mental health at Active Cheshire:

 Roberta.pomponio@activecheshire.com.

https://digital.nhs.uk/news/2021/significant-increase-in-obesity-rates-among-primary-aged-children-latest-statistics-show

Exercise is good for you. We all know it offers up to 83% lower risk of osteoarthritis, up to 50% Lower risk of type 2 diabetes and colon cancer, up to 40% lower risk of depression, dementia and falls among older adults, up to 35% lower risk of coronary heart disease and up to 20% lower risk of breast cancer

But sometimes it gets extra effort to actually do it.

This technology is known as Augmented Reality – this new technology gives us the opportunity to design digitally led walks.

About Active Cheshire

Active Cheshire is the lead body for physical activity and sport in Cheshire & Warrington. Since 1989 the organisation has been working across the sub-region to improve the provision of sport and physical activity opportunities. Since 2014 Active Cheshire has focused on changing behaviours to encourage embedding physical activity into everyday life.

As an organisation Active Cheshire works across the whole of the market partnering with a diverse range of organisations ensuring a positive impact in all walks of life; ensuring people can get active at home, school, in the workplace and everywhere in between.

We help people take small steps to have a big impact on their quality of life.

www.activecheshire.org