Students help improve physical activity levels in Southampton

Cleo Hodgkin, Zoe Conway and Jess Sheldrake prepare to educate and motivate Southampton locals to become more active 

My Journey is a local initiative which is helping to promote active travel around Southampton. In November, three final year students on the BSc (Hons) Health, Exercise and Physical Activity course volunteered to take part in two promotional days with Sustrans, one of the campaigns that make up My Journey. The promotion days were held in West Quay shopping centre in the centre of Southampton. Sustrans aimed to promote the brand name My Journey, advising keen cyclists, supporting beginners and providing a variety of information leaflets such as Southampton cycle routes and bike maintenance. The students took along some equipment to perform health checks (height, weight, BMI and blood pressure) on anyone who came over to the stand for information which proved to be a great way of attracting attention. The health checks were ideal as once completed it was a great opportunity for the students to talk to the individuals about active travel, promoting physical activity and how it can positively impact their health check results.  My Journey had also arranged for other companies to attend the event which all promote healthy travel, such as stationary bike races, BMX shows and free smoothies which you pedalled on specialised bikes to stir. 

Cleo's pedal power stirs a smoothie



Cleo Hodgkin, one of the students who took part said, "Working with Sustrans gave us the opportunity to experience how local initiatives promote their work within the community. It was also a great sense of satisfaction talking to individuals, helping to build their confidence to get back on a bike - especially if they haven't cycled for 20 years!"
 
Another student involved, Zoe Conway commented, "this was a great opportunity to put into practise some of the skills we have acquired during our time at university. It was also interesting to hear first-hand some of the barriers people have to active travel and giving them motivation to work around those barriers. It also gave us a greater understanding of how the initiative engages with the public."

Dr Marie Stopforth, course leader for the BSc Health, Exercise and Physical Activity course added, "this is a perfect example of how we encourage our students to get involved in physical activity interventions in the city.  The students were able to get involved in this initiative due to our strong links with the Solent NHS Health Improvement team and other partnership organisations in Southampton. We believe that this type of practical experience is invaluable in helping to shape knowledgeable and employable graduates. The girls did a great job, and are a credit to their course and to the university!"