Leeds United fans invited to join Yorkshire Cancer Research exercise challenge content
Leeds United fans are being encouraged to clock up their active minutes as part of a new challenge set by official charity partner Yorkshire Cancer Research.
Launched on National Fitness Day (Wednesday, 22 September), Challenge90 invites supporters to take part in 90 minutes of exercise a week - the length of a football match - to improve their health and fitness and lower their risk of developing cancer.
Leeds United has been hailed as one of the fittest clubs in the Premier League, and by taking on Challenge90, fans inspired by the Whites can increase their fitness too.
Dr Kathryn Scott, Chief Executive at Yorkshire Cancer Research said: “Our Challenge90 campaign is all about looking after ourselves and others. There’s strong scientific evidence that being physically active can help you lead a healthier and happier life.
“Being physically active makes a huge difference not only in terms of preventing cancer, but also in helping people with cancer respond better to treatment. It can even help stop cancer coming back.
“Research also shows that exercise can boost self-esteem, mood, sleep quality and energy, and it’s a really great way to meet and socialise with other people too.”
Those involved in Challenge90 can choose the type of exercise that works best for them, from walking and cycling to team sports and home workouts. They are then invited to add up their time, with the goal of reaching 90 minutes of heart raising activity a week.
By signing up and logging their exercise, fans will be able to see how the Leeds United community are staying active and contribute to a collective goal of 100,000 minutes of exercise this season.
Dr Scott continued: “At Yorkshire Cancer Research, our aim is to give people living in the region more life to live. Challenge90 will help get Yorkshire moving, and alongside the Leeds United community, we can continue to strive towards our goal of saving 2000 lives from cancer every year.”
Paul Bell, Executive Director at Leeds United Football Club, said: “We are really excited about being a part of the Challenge90 initiative with our Official Charity Partner, Yorkshire Cancer Research. The work being done at the charity to help prevent cancer and reduce the impact of cancer for families and individuals is incredible, and the fact it has been proven that living a more active lifestyle really can save lives makes this challenge so important to everyone at the club.
“We are encouraging our supporters worldwide to get involved, with just 90 minutes of exercise to be done per week that could help you lead a healthier and happier lifestyle. It will be fantastic to see how Challenge90 develops over the coming weeks and months, and to see the progress everyone undertaking the challenge is making.”
Yorkshire Cancer Research is funding pioneering new research and projects around the role of exercise in preventing cancer and improving outcomes after a cancer diagnosis.
Research has found that maintaining a healthy weight through regular exercise can help prevent 13 different types of cancer.