Rathbone found the perfect pitch to kick-off a drive to encourage more exercise – a football ground in Old Trafford.

Trainees from our premier Chester Road base took their place in a five-a-side competition staged just a stone’s throw from Manchester United’s ground.

And with a brand new Rathbone survey showing that many young people are living on a dangerous daily diet of cigarettes and energy drinks, our group of Foundation, IN2WORK and Pathways learners were keen to tackle poor health – by getting stuck in and working up a sweat.

Nathan Perrett and Sam Griffin

The Greater Manchester section of the study quizzed over 100 young people. Recent research by the Church Urban Fund revealed that nine out of the ten poorest areas in England were in the North West with Partington (in Trafford) featuring high in deprivation indices in the past.

Rathbone attributed many of the findings of their survey to the stressful, often chaotic lives that young people lead; and one of the most shocking statistics showed that a fifth of respondents didn’t get a proper daily meal.

“When we asked why they smoked, some young people said it was the only outlet they had for calming their anxiety while others mistakenly said it kept their weight down” said Peter Gibson, spokesperson for Rathbone. “Poverty meant that many chose to spend what they had on a quick fix of nicotine or sugar to keep their energy levels and feel-good factor up, instead of eating and exercising properly.”

Other stats showed that:

• Under half did any sport (though 66% watched it)
• 30% felt tired all the time and,
• 52% were already suffering from physical or mental health issues connected to poor diet.

As well as taking part in a fiercely competitive tournament, our footballers were candid about their lifestyles with BBC Radio Manchester reporter, Chris Mayall. A former volunteer at Rathbone, Chris is compiling a feature on young peoples’ health with the aid of psychologists and health experts.

Fittingly for a group of young people who were so spot-on, the Trafford competition was decided by a close fought penalty shoot-out!