COUNCIL-FUNDED gym sessions for people in County Durham are to be scrapped.

The initiative allowed people to use gym facilities for free, providing a GP had referred them and included people who were overweight, had mobility problems or had suffered a stroke.

The decision comes despite Public Health England figures which reveal that County Durham has one of the North's highest obesity rates among adults, with 16 per cent classed as obese.

However, new research suggests the scheme is not a cost effective use of public money and revised guidelines no longer recommend exercise referrals for inactive people who are otherwise in good health.

Durham County Council has chosen to follow the guidelines and will end GP exercise referrals for everyone from April 1.

Anna Lynch, the council's director of public health, said: “The Government’s decision to transfer Public Health services to local authorities was part of a move to refocus the service on working more closely with local communities and to target other areas that have an impact on people’s health.

“As a result of this, some countywide services such as the exercise referral scheme will come to an end. However the council is continuing to support sport and physical activity through leisure centres as well as partnership initiatives such as the walk4life service.”

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) updated its recommendations on the exercise referral scheme to promote physical activity for people aged 19 and over.

The current scheme seeks to increase physical activity levels which in turn results in a range of positive health benefits.

However, new research shows the scheme offered only a marginal benefit compared with simply going for a walk or cycling. The economic evaluation also showed it was not cost effective.

A NICE spokesperson added: “Keeping active, be it walking, cycling, doing chores or going to the gym, continues to be very important for health and wellbeing.

“Physical activity can play an important role in preventing and managing health problems such as diabetes and stroke and it also has a positive effect on mood, helping people relieve stress or relax.

“This updated guideline looked specifically at exercise referral schemes which aim to get people more active.

“The additional evidence reviewed showed that the schemes only offered marginal benefit when compared to other ways of increasing physical activity. Therefore, we do not consider them to be cost effective.”