PEOPLE in Worcestershire are among the most active in the West Midlands.

A report by non-profit health body ukactive found those living in deprived areas where local authorities are doing little to promote physical activity are more likely to die young than those elsewhere.

But Worcestershire has nothing to worry about with the report ranking the county, along with Solihull and Warwickshire, as having the lowest levels of inactivity in the West Midlands.

The study came almost a year after local authorities took over responsibility for promoting physical activity from the NHS and found Dudley, Sandwell and Coventry were the most deprived areas in the region for physical activity.

Chairman of ukactive Fred Turok said the councils needed to work alongside the government as well as providers of health and leisure activities to increase levels of activity.

“It’s no longer acceptable that physical inactivity remains the forgotten cause of death in the UK,” he said.

“Supporting inactive people to become more active, even for just 10 minutes a day, is where the biggest health gains lie.”

The report found local authorities across England spent on average just two per cent of public health budgets on promoting and investing in physical activity in 2012, in comparison with 38 per cent on sexual health and 12 per cent on alcohol misuse.

The top four most inactive local authorities areas were named as Manchester, Sandwell, Salford and Bradford, while Wokingham, Richmond upon Thames, Islington and Windsor were most active.

Lord Coe, who spearheaded the London 2012 Olympic Games, welcomed the report, saying: “With projections showing that inactivity levels are due to increase by a further 15 per cent by 2030 there is no doubt that the issue requires immediate national attention and urgent action.

“Turning the tide of inactivity would be a hugely important outcome for our Olympic and Paralympic legacy story, which would have a massive long-term impact on our nation’s health and wellbeing.”