ONE in five adults in York get less than 30 minutes of exercise a week, and are classed as ‘inactive’, a report shows.

Statistics for the city show that 19.7 per cent of people are inactive, a figure which compares favourably with the national average of 26 per cent.

Some 12.4 per cent of people in York are fairly active and 67.9 per cent of people count as active and doing more than 150 minutes of exercise a week.

National statistics show people who are long-term unemployed or have never worked are most likely not to take exercise at 37 per cent, compared to 17 per cent of those in professional and managerial jobs.

Almost a third, or 31 per cent, of people in South Tyneside, Leicester, Barking and Dagenham and Rochdale are inactive while the lowest rates were found in Wokingham, at 13 per cent, and Brighton and Hove at 14 per cent, the report said.

Dr Justin Varney, Public Health England’s national lead for adult health and well-being, said: “We need many more adults and children to be more physically active.

“Little and often makes a big difference - just ten minutes extra walking each day can improve a person’s health and their overall quality of life.”

Meanwhile, statistics released by NHS Digital show 37 people in the Vale of York area were admitted to hospital primarily because of their obesity in 2015/16 - six men and 31 women. A total of 4,971 people in the Vale of York were admitted to hospital with a main or secondary diagnosis of obesity - amounting to 1,405 admissions per 100,000 of the population, considerably higher than the national average of 995.

Twenty people in the Vale of York were given gastric bypass surgery because of their obesity, compared to ten in Scarborough and Ryedale and 19 in the East Riding.