Physical activity measures have now been implemented in a voluntary reward and incentive programme used by GPs across the UK.

Two physical activity indicators have been added to the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF), and have been effective from 1 April when public health responsibilities were switched to local authorities.

The indicators set thresholds for increasing physical activity for patients with hypertension - which affects 7.3m in England and Wales - and delivering lifestyle advice on physical activity to hypertensive patients.

A House of Lords committee report on Olympic health legacy last year recommended including physical activity in QOF, as did the Royal College of Physicians 'Exercise for Life' report.

Including physical activity in the QOF has been one of the primary policy objectives of ukactive, as part of a wider aim to establish physical activity as a core business of the National Health Service (NHS).

Ukactive chief executive David Stalker said: "We hope that these new indicators for hypertensive patients are just the beginning of an opportunity to embed physical activity across a wider range of indicators for the management of chronic conditions, saving the NHS millions of pounds in the process."