Stepping out with the new university for Shropshire
Visitors to Shrewsbury Flower Show burned a total of 12 million calories walking around the exhibits, a professor from the team developing the new university for Shropshire has estimated.
The team ran a pedometer challenge from their stand throughout the Show. The stand was set up on 8 August and 9 August 2014 to share information on plans for the new university which is being developed by the University of Chester, Shropshire Council and ip&e. Visitors were invited to discuss their thoughts on the plans with members of the project team.
People visiting the stand were given the chance to be fitted with ‘individually calibrated’ pedometers while they spent time at the event. On their return to the stand John Buckley, Professor of Applied Exercise Science, recorded the distance they had travelled and the amount of calories they had burned.
The results showed that visitors had walked an average of 2.5 to 3.5 miles in total during their visit. Additionally, it is estimated that two thirds of people attending the Show would have walked at least another 1 to 1.5 miles getting to and from The Quarry showground.
This equates to an average of 300 to 400 calories burned by each person during their visit, or about six million total calories for all visitors each day of the Show.
The stand also provided the opportunity to share the name of the new university: University Centre Shrewsbury. This name, which has been discussed with Her Majesty’s Privy Council, in liaison with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, is to be used until it reaches the next stage in its development towards free-standing university status.
Comments received on the new university included “should have happened years ago”, “an excellent idea that fulfills a real need”, “really excited about the prospect of a university in the town” and “long overdue”.
Professor Tim Wheeler, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Chester, said:
“The Flower Show provided a great opportunity to talk to people about the new university – and listen to their ideas on how we can create the best institution we can for students, residents, businesses and all our partners.”
Keith Barrow, Leader of Shropshire Council, said:
“We’re all very excited about the new university and I’m really pleased that visitors to the Flower Show share our excitement and enthusiasm. I’m looking forward to the first postgraduates beginning their studies this autumn, and to the first undergraduates starting at the university in September next year.”
Professor Buckley added that the results of the pedometer challenge showed that the average person was fit enough to perform enough activity to improve their health, by making small changes in their day-to-day routine.
He said:
“If people could simply watch 30 less minutes of television per day, walked for journeys of less than a mile, used the stairs or walked up escalators at the shopping centre, and stood up for five minutes for every hour of using their computer, they would burn the equivalent of four to five pounds of fat each year. This would also reduce the risk, by 15 to 30 per cent, of getting diabetes, heart disease, strokes and dying before the age of 75.”
Further information
Professor John Buckley is Chair of the International Council of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation – http://globalcardiacrehab.com
He has featured in a number of BBC television and radio programmes on exercise, including working with Top Gear’s Richard Hammond and television doctor and author, Michael Mosley.
For further information on Professor Buckley go to www.chester.ac.uk/departments/centre-for-exercise-and-nutrition-science/john-buckley
Hundreds of people visited the stand and, of these, almost 50 took the pedometer challenge. The estimate for calories burned by visitors to the Show is based on 20,000 people attending the Show each day. This is based on averages from previous years; a final figure for the 2014 show will be released by the Shropshire Horticultural Society at a later date. A visit was based on an average of people standing and strolling around the Show for three to four and a half hours.
University Centre Shrewsbury will be created through support and guidance from the University of Chester in its early days but will, in time, seek its own self-governing status and ultimately become a free-standing university.
Recognising the comments shared at the show, the project team’s history specialist, Dr Tim Jenkins, added that the new university could be seen as around 400 years overdue, as a serious proposal for a university in Shrewsbury was put forward in the early 1600s.
A report discussed and agreed by full Council in July 2014 listed a number of sites which could potentially be used by the new university as teaching or student accommodation. Discussions are taking place about the feasibility of the potential sites and a further report will go to full Council on Thursday 25 September 2014 outlining the preferred options, and asking councillors to make a decision about which should be the chosen sites.
