Amanda lost seven stone by travelling sustainably

Today is World Health Day. The theme is ‘Our planet, our health’, a subject very close to our heart here at BetterPoints. It’s why our platform is purpose-built to encourage, promote and measure active travel: when people change their behaviour and travel actively – walking, wheeling, cycling etc – they are engaging in healthy physical activity and reducing their impact on the environment.

The World Health Day website poses this daunting challenge:

Are we able to reimagine a world where clean air, water and food are available to all?

Where economies are focused on health and well-being?

Where cities are liveable and people have control over their health and the health of the planet?

It’s daunting because reluctance to change is an enormous barrier to improving a situation. Yet change it we must – and urgently.

Behaviour change interventions can help here. Done well, they can make real headway in breaking the status quo and turning the tide of incumbent behaviours.

At BetterPoints, we follow behaviour change science and combine it with mobile technology and communication. Our programmes show people what they can do differently, challenge them to have a go, reward them for doing it, encourage them to keep at it, and show them the difference they make.

The impact can be amazing. I could bore you with statistics and graphs, but this brief story from Amanda says it better:

I’ve now lost 7 stone since getting into fitness with the BetterPoints app!

I now walk to shops where I would always have driven before. I even walk to meet my husband from work and we walk back together!

Now I’m fitter, the knock-on effect is that I can also engage in other activities – I’ve recently joined a netball team.

It’s also given me the confidence to take up cycling too.