Referring patients to Saturday morning “park runs” has proved very successful, according to an analysis published today.

The findings came after the British government announced support for social prescribing of cycling and walking in 11 council areas. The British Journal of General Practice carries analysis of a survey of 45,622 parkrunners, which shows how the scheme is benefiting participants. The researchers say while fit-looking runners might lead off a park run, many of the participants at the back – many of whom walk the route or combine a little running with walking – include individuals who are undertaking an activity for the first time in many years.

The survey, by Sheffield Hallam University, showed that just over 9% of all participants have at least one long-term health condition. Of those who walk the park run route, this rose to 45% and included conditions such as arthritis, obesity, depression, chronic pain, hypertension and anxiety.

While walkers were less likely to be motivated by fitness or competition, and more likely to be motivated by physical health and managing a health condition, there were perceived improvements across 16 measures of wellbeing. This, say the research team, indicates potential benefits for a wide range of people. The Parkrun Practice initiative was created jointly by Parkrun UK and the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) to help link primary care with the opportunity for exercise that the population-level event presents.

However, there is a lack of understanding of what Parkrun is and the appropriateness for some patients of participating in it. This insight piece for GPs demonstrates that events such as parkrun include a broad range of people with health and physical abilities similar to their patients. While motives vary with finishing time, the perceived impacts are largely the same and clinicians can refer to the benefits of exercise through these types of community events, the researchers say.

Professor Steve Haake said: “It can be difficult to recommend exercise if you don’t know where to point people. Parkrun is just one example of something that benefits large numbers of people with one of main benefits being a sense of community. The crux is that this seems to work for people of all abilities and makes it relevant for many patients.”

The survey also found that while a quarter of people say that they would be more active if advised by a nurse or GP, 70-80% of clinicians do not speak to their patients about exercise.