A multi-activity fitness provider hopes to encourage more people in the region to enjoy and participate in physical activity to counteract stereotypes of unhealthiness that blight the region.

“The nation as it is is generally unhealthy and out of condition”, Gary Nash, the founder of ODFC Fitness, tells JesmondLocal. According to research conducted by the University of Bristol in 2013, 80% of adults in England ‘don’t exercise enough’.

Nash, an ex-army physical training instructor, founded ODFC Fitness following his role as a trainer on ITV’s reality game show ‘Bad Lads’ Army’. Since then, he has been expanding the company from boot camps to a wide range of classes, such as yoga and Olympic lifting, in a variety of locations in the region, including Jesmond Dene, Leazes Park and Whitley Bay.

The purpose of ODFC Fitness is to offer customers a friendly, exciting and, most importantly, challenging experience, Nash says. His enthusiasm for fitness and wellbeing is demonstrable: “it’s what we do, and we do it well,” he says. “We have people who have never lifted weights lifting, and lifting with people they wouldn’t go near in a normal gym. We have all shapes and sizes adventure racing at the weekend. Diversity is key, we love the challenge.”

Last month, JesmondLocal reported on new programmes introduced at The Northumberland Club in Jesmond to encourage women, who are supposedly the least active group of people around Newcastle, to engage more in sporting activity.

Indeed, the north east frequently is denunciated for its poor health. The Office of National Statistics (ONS) claims that between 2011 and 2013, the healthy life expectancy of women in Newcastle was 59 years and nine months and just 57 years and eight months for men. These stats are well below the England-wide average of 63 years and three months for men and 63 years and nine months for women.

However, this is also a widespread issue concerning the entire nation. A January 2015 BBC study concluded that a third of men and a half of women do not get enough exercise, nearly two-thirds of adults are overweight or obese, and nearly a third of people have high blood pressure.

Moreover, an April 2015 government led Change4Life study has determined that the exercise adults are participating in are not substantial enough, declaring swimming, gardening or golf “not enough to prevent early death”.

“We have to make time for exercise or we will lose time to illness,” Nash explains. “It’s that simple. You only have one body, you have to look after it, it’s the only one you’ll get. We try and make things fun and challenging to make it easy to come along. We create the atmosphere at every class but with big groups it’s electric.”

In the run up to the 2015 General Election, the Conservative Party are pledging £150m a year to primary schools until 2020 so all primary school children can have at least two hours of physical education a week. Labour also support the two hours a week policy. Moreover, the Conservatives pledge to improve the quality of community sports facilities and seek to increase participation in sport by females.