Fiona wins £1,000 for the Falcons with 'BUPA Fitbug Parliamentary  Challenge'

Fiona won the 'Bupa Fitbug Parliamentary Challenge' for the Labour Party, winning £1,000 for her local football team, Falcons FC.

Members of Parliament were challenged to walk as much as possible over two weeks in the hope of winning a £1,000 Bupa donation to a local organisation of their choice. Thirty seven Members of Parliament from the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat parties signed up to take part in the competition, which ran between 21 June and 4 July. Bupa devised the competition to raise awareness of the benefits of taking regular exercise, such as walking, including ensuring a healthy heart and reduced body fat as well as helping people to feel better about themselves.

Fiona said: "My victory was secured when I led a team of volunteers to deliver cards to homes in the Foxborough area of Slough, which used to be in Windsor constituency, to tell my new constituents how to get hold of me.  On a lovely sunny day we walked 18,000 steps.

I gave out trophies to Falcon FC in May and when I won the Bupa Challenge I thought of them straight away. Football is a great way to be active and I knew the money would go a long way."

Saj Hussain, Falcons FC Manager, said: "I'm delighted Fiona has decided to give Bupa's donation to Falcons FC. This will give the club a great boost to support the club's infrastructure and will in particular help us invest in setting up the reserve side which has a large youth contingent, enabling us to buy equipment and kit for the new team."

Natalie-Jane Macdonald, managing director, Bupa Health and Wellbeing UK, said: "It's great that Members of Parliament set a positive example by taking part in the Bupa Fitbug Parliamentary Challenge and I'd like to congratulate Fiona on her success."

The Fitbug, which was worn by all the candidates, is an 'intelligent pedometer' that monitors the amount of steps a person takes every day.  When connected to a computer, users can add in extra details such as what they ate for lunch to calculate total energy intake and output. The programme then generates a health and fitness plan tailored to the individual.

Evidence shows that regular exercise, including walking, can:

• halve the risk of getting type 2 diabetes
• halve the risk of developing coronary heart disease
• increase levels of HDL ('good' cholesterol)
• reduce high blood pressure
• have beneficial effects if you have arthritis and lower back pain
• reduce overall risk of cancer, prevent bowel cancer and reduce the risk of breast cancer in women after the menopause
• help to maintain a healthy weight in combination with a balanced diet
• reduce the risk of depression and dementia in later life
• reduce stress and improve sleep