OUR region has lots to be proud of, but public health is not one of them.

The North-East has some of the worst levels of heart disease in the country because of below-average levels of physical exercise and unhealthy diets.

It is why The Northern Echo has forged partnerships through our "Chance To Live" campaign with local councils, aimed at promoting the benefits of exercise.

Raising levels of physical activity is high on the Government's agenda because of the positive impact it has on the nation's health. And the recent launch of the Everyday Sport initiative in the North-East is a demonstration of that objective.

The Government wants to see more people taking care of their own health by doing more exercise.

But there is a glaring anomaly in that strategy - the poor state of our sports centres.

Throughout the region there are examples of leisure facilities, built in the 1970s, which are being left to fall into disrepair.

Sport England is lobbying the Government to release more money into sports facilities because councils say they cannot afford to carry out modernisation programmes.

The Government is adept at coming up with strategies which sound good and hit the headlines, but it does not always back them up with the necessary investment to make the nice words more meaningful.

Another "new idea" is to get teachers back to teaching by reducing their administrative duties. But so far there is no sign of any extra money to deal with the extra red tape which has been generated in schools.

We like the idea of getting the nation fitter, just as we like the idea of getting teachers teaching. But neither can work without financial back-up.