ukactive has launched a five-point manifesto designed to improve the health of the nation, urging all parties to adopt policies within it ahead of the forthcoming general election on 8 June.

Calling the election the “most important for a generation” ukactive said the election offers an opportunity to mend “a society that doesn’t value physical activity highly enough”.

“Physical inactivity costs the UK economy an estimated £20bn per year and causes 37,000 deaths per annum,” ukactive states in the Manifesto for an Active Britain.

“With an ageing population and an NHS at breaking point, we must build movement back into our daily lives to reap the physical mental and social benefits before it is too late.”

The document lists five areas – schools, workplace, high streets, active ageing and a new industrial strategy – in which improvements are needed to make “physical activity the natural choice from cradle to grave”.

For schools, the manifesto calls for new fitness measurement programmes to be rolled out, similar to English and maths tests. Funding from the Sugar Tax should also be used to open up schools over holiday periods for “holistic summer camps” offering all children access to free activity sessions and healthy meals.

Other plans include tackling the “toxic toll of sedentary office culture” by enacting a Workout from Work scheme and investing £1bn in regenerating scheme to transform the UK’s ageing fleet of leisure centres into new community wellness hubs.

There are also measures to promote active ageing. “Our analysis has found that getting Britons aged over 60 to do five 30-minute dance classes a week could help save the NHS £11bn, preventing almost 850,000 cases of disease and injury and saving billions more in social care costs,” the manifesto reads.

To see the full manifesto, click here for the ukactive website.