An eight week campaign will launch in Hertfordshire on Monday to tackle inactivity in the workplace.

Statistics released by Public Health England show that Brits sit down for an average 8.9 hours every day and 40 per cent do not exercise enough.

In a bid to combat these statistics, people are being encouraged to sign up to the 'Workplace Challenge'; a series of initiatives designed to help address and break down the barriers many workers face, fitting physical activity into busy work life schedules.

The focus this year will on bitesize chunks of activity, encouraging workers to step away from their desks and out of the office during the lightest and brightest part of the day. Herts Sports and Physical Activity Partnership, working in collaboration with Workplace Challenge, has set a target for everyone to walk, jog, run or cycle one mile each day during the eight week period.

John O’Callaghan for Herts Sports & Physical Activity Partnership, said: “It’s all too easy to stay at the desk over lunch, or to work late in the office to meet a deadline, but this is contributing to a worrying trend of inactivity amongst the working population. Too many of us aren’t getting the recommended 150 minutes of exercise in a week – and it’s having a serious impact on our mental and physical health, not to mention the productivity of workers.

"The 2018 Active Workplace Challenge is about giving people the support and inspiration to get up on their feet and bring physical activity into and around their working day. The message is to try and do 10 minutes of activity per day."

Employees can visit the Workplace Challenge website and track their activity through the eight-week challenge, comparing activity levels to other participants and organisations across Hertfordshire and the rest of the country. It will finish on March 4.

Visit www.workplacechallenge.org.uk/2018challenge to find out more.