Activity levels were on the rise and inactivity was falling before the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak, according to Sport England's latest Active Lives Adult Survey. Published today but conducted in the 12 months to November 2019, the figures show 28.6 million adults were active – i.e. doing at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity a week.
This accounts for 63.3% of the nation's population and is up 404,600 people on the previous 12 months. The results also show there were 159,500 fewer inactive people - those not doing at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity a week - than the previous 12 months.
The report shows the increase in activity is being driven by rises in the numbers of women, adults aged 55+ and disabled people or people with long-term health conditions being active.
These are all areas where we’ve focused significant investment in the last few years with campaigns such as This Girl Can and We Are Undefeatable, as well as more recent work with Demos on their home exercise radio show 10 Today which supports the over 70s to be more active.
Also, for the first time the report shows information relating to people’s perceived loneliness and its link to physical activity, with those both volunteering and playing sport being less likely to feel lonely and reporting higher levels of happiness.
However, the results show inequalities linked to ethnicity and affluence do remain, with those from ethnic backgrounds and people in lower socio-economic groups less likely to be active - a fact acknowledged by Tim.
“Behind the overall positive picture, there remain areas of real concern,” he added.
“Not least the sobering reality that if you are well off you are far more likely to be active than if you are not, and the ongoing evidence of a significant ethnicity gap where we are not seeing growth in activity levels among some ethnic groups"
Results also show a drop in the activity levels of people aged 16-34, with those classed as active falling by 265,100, or 1.7%, compared to the previous 12 months – correspondingly, inactivity in the same group has increased by 176,600 (1.4%).
These figures are a particular worry when combined with others that show 16-24-year-olds as the age group most likely to say they always feel lonely.
While the effect of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and resulting social distancing guidelines are not yet clear - we’re aware there are risks that this period could halt the increase in activity seen in recent years, as well as worsening existing inequalities.
We’ve already seen that the trend for those in lower socio-economic groups to be less active is continuing in the current crisis, and our chief executive is mindful of the role we can play in trying to stop that happening.