Can swimming slow down the onset of dementia? Or help people cope with depression? The answer – according to a number of studies – is yes. And, for the first time, the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) will attempt to pull this “wealth of evidence” together to proactively demonstrate the sport’s positive effect on mental, and physical, health.
An expert panel – dubbed the Health Commission for Swimming – has been drafted in by the organisation, headed up by Health Education England chief executive Ian Cumming.
Cumming, who is a Level 3 swimming coach himself, will meet monthly with his panel of colleagues to sift through research which correlates regular swimming activity with increased wellbeing, before delivering its findings to the ASA in December.
“Many years ago I used to swim competitively – not to an incredibly high standard I have to say – but it’s something I greatly enjoyed,” he tells Sports Management. “I have been interested in the benefits of swimming personally for a period of time, beyond the obvious benefits around physical health.”
FINDING PROOF While Cumming and co will pluck out pieces of work which demonstrate swimming’s effect on weight management, physical fitness and the benefits of the cardiovascular system, he reveals that he is keen to get his teeth into the academic studies which show that swimming aids the lonely and socially excluded, or slows down dementia for the elderly.
“On top of that there’s the safety aspect as well, in terms of people actually finding themselves in water in difficulty,” he adds. “If people are able to swim then the outcomes are likely to be very different than if they are unable to swim.”
While Cumming’s experience in the pool strengthened his candidacy for the role, his credentials in the world of public health has given him a vast amount of insight into the strain the NHS currently finds itself under, and how physically activity can help ease the burden.
Alongside other arm’s length health bodies, Health Education England published a Five Year Forward Review in which one of the three main sections was about “moving people upstream” – preventing people from being ill and helping them manage their own health.
HEALTH BENEFITS Cumming explains there is an “inexorable rise” in the demand for healthcare services as a result of lifestyle choices such as the lack of a balanced diet and regular exercise. While physical activity is being increasingly seen as a preventative measure, he says that the Health Commission for Swimming represents the first time an individual sport is being examined for the health benefits it delivers.
“This piece of work directly links with what we call the ‘health gap’,” he says. “Colleagues in public health have been working for many years and have done fantastic work on linking the benefits of sport and exercise to health. To my knowledge this is the first time we’ve specifically looked at an individual sport and investigated the benefits it can achieve.”
The commission will look globally for research, with “lots of work coming out of Australia, Canada and the US”, but Cumming highlights “eminent research already available in this country”. He admits that presenting the physical benefits of swimming would prove to be slightly easier than any effect the sport has on mental health, but he points to “a lot of research in this area,” especially the monitoring of people with depression and anxiety.
“There has been some really interesting stuff done around dementia,” he says. “This is an area I do want to get into the report. There have been some suggestions that regular exercise such as swimming can stimulate parts of the brain that could slow down the progression of dementia.”
However, the panel has reserved the right to commission original research if appropriate if there are gaps in any work. The subject is too important, says Cumming, to leave any stone unturned.
“We will produce our report by early December, and it may be that our report actually identifies that we want more research to be undertaken beyond that,” he explains. “We are probably going to have meetings on a monthly basis as we move through the rest of the year, identifying the findings and putting the evidence all together.”
Can swimming slow down the onset of dementia? Or help people cope with depression? The answer – according to a number of studies – is yes. And, for the first time, the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) will attempt to pull this “wealth of evidence” together to proactively demonstrate the sport’s positive effect on mental, and physical, health.
An expert panel – dubbed the Health Commission for Swimming – has been drafted in by the organisation, headed up by Health Education England chief executive Ian Cumming.
Cumming, who is a Level 3 swimming coach himself, will meet monthly with his panel of colleagues to sift through research which correlates regular swimming activity with increased wellbeing, before delivering its findings to the ASA in December.
“Many years ago I used to swim competitively – not to an incredibly high standard I have to say – but it’s something I greatly enjoyed,” he tells Sports Management. “I have been interested in the benefits of swimming personally for a period of time, beyond the obvious benefits around physical health.”
FINDING PROOF While Cumming and co will pluck out pieces of work which demonstrate swimming’s effect on weight management, physical fitness and the benefits of the cardiovascular system, he reveals that he is keen to get his teeth into the academic studies which show that swimming aids the lonely and socially excluded, or slows down dementia for the elderly.
“On top of that there’s the safety aspect as well, in terms of people actually finding themselves in water in difficulty,” he adds. “If people are able to swim then the outcomes are likely to be very different than if they are unable to swim.”
While Cumming’s experience in the pool strengthened his candidacy for the role, his credentials in the world of public health has given him a vast amount of insight into the strain the NHS currently finds itself under, and how physically activity can help ease the burden.
Alongside other arm’s length health bodies, Health Education England published a Five Year Forward Review in which one of the three main sections was about “moving people upstream” – preventing people from being ill and helping them manage their own health.
HEALTH BENEFITS Cumming explains there is an “inexorable rise” in the demand for healthcare services as a result of lifestyle choices such as the lack of a balanced diet and regular exercise. While physical activity is being increasingly seen as a preventative measure, he says that the Health Commission for Swimming represents the first time an individual sport is being examined for the health benefits it delivers.
“This piece of work directly links with what we call the ‘health gap’,” he says. “Colleagues in public health have been working for many years and have done fantastic work on linking the benefits of sport and exercise to health. To my knowledge this is the first time we’ve specifically looked at an individual sport and investigated the benefits it can achieve.”
The commission will look globally for research, with “lots of work coming out of Australia, Canada and the US”, but Cumming highlights “eminent research already available in this country”. He admits that presenting the physical benefits of swimming would prove to be slightly easier than any effect the sport has on mental health, but he points to “a lot of research in this area,” especially the monitoring of people with depression and anxiety.
“There has been some really interesting stuff done around dementia,” he says. “This is an area I do want to get into the report. There have been some suggestions that regular exercise such as swimming can stimulate parts of the brain that could slow down the progression of dementia.”
However, the panel has reserved the right to commission original research if appropriate if there are gaps in any work. The subject is too important, says Cumming, to leave any stone unturned.
“We will produce our report by early December, and it may be that our report actually identifies that we want more research to be undertaken beyond that,” he explains. “We are probably going to have meetings on a monthly basis as we move through the rest of the year, identifying the findings and putting the evidence all together.”
London Museum will open four new food and drink destinations when it launches its new home
at Smithfield on 28 November, making hospitality a central part of the visitor experience at one
of the capital's biggest cultural openings of the year.
OMA has completed a major transformation of New York's New Museum, creating a larger
cultural campus that combines expanded exhibition spaces with learning, performance,
hospitality and public programming.
A US$50 million (£44.2 million, €51.2 million) transformation of Chicago's historic McCormick
Mansion has created a new destination that combines live magic, immersive theatre, dining and
private membership under one roof.
The Montana Historical Society has officially celebrated the opening of its new Montana
Heritage
Center, a US$107 million (£79 million, €92 million) destination that combines immersive
storytelling with cutting-edge audiovisual technology to bring the sta
San Antonio Zoo has reported a US$283 million economic impact for 2025, following a decade-
long transformation programme that has seen almost US$200 million invested into the Texas
attraction.
Plans for the AU$180 million redevelopment of Reef HQ Aquarium in Townsville, Australia, are
progressing, with the project set to transform the attraction into a global centre for reef
education and conservation.
Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Mubadala Capital has made a binding, fully financed
€1 billion
offer to acquire Pierre and Vacances SA, the European holiday resort operator behind the
continental European Center Parcs business.
Disney has reaffirmed its commitment to investing US$30 billion in its US parks and cruise
business by 2033, using new America250 celebrations to underline the role its attractions play
in supporting jobs, tourism and economic growth.
Expo 2030 Riyadh is being planned as a permanent visitor destination, with organisers
confirming the six-million-square-metre site will become a Global Village after the event closes.
The owner of one of Australia's best-known waterparks has acquired a major competitor,
creating a new attractions business spanning two of the country's largest visitor destinations.
