Report reveals action needed to tackle inequalities when it comes to physical activity

Sport England has published a report which reveals a long-term increase in activity levels among adults, but also highlights further action is needed to tackle inequalities.

The report shows that there are two million more adults being active on a regular basis than in 2016. This is despite the the impacts of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic and increased cost of living pressures.

The Active Lives Adult Survey report shows that between November 2022 and November 2023, 63.4 per cent of the adult population met the Chief Medical Officers’ guidelines of doing 150 minutes, or more, of moderate intensity physical activity a week. This is the equivalent of 29.5 million adults in England playing sport or taking part in physical activity every week.

The figure is a small increase from a year ago, when 63.1 per cent were active.

The number of people averaging fewer than 30 minutes a week has remained steady over the last year, with 25.7 per cent of the population (11.9m) in this category compared to 25.8 per cent 12 months ago.

According to the report, a person’s age, sex, gender, ethnicity, socio-economic group, whether they have a disability or long-term health condition, as well as the place they live in are all significant factors impacting our relationship with sport and physical activity.

It highlights that women, those from lower socio-economic groups and Black and Asian people are still less likely to be active than others.

The report also reveals that where someone lives impacts on how likely they are to be active, with those living in more deprived places less likely to be active than those in places that are less deprived, This is represented by a high of 79 per cent active in Brighton and Hove to a low of just 49 per cent active in Barking and Dagenham.

Tackling inequalities is at the centre of Sport England's Uniting the Movement strategy and next week, the organisation is to announce details of its new £160m Movement Fund. The new fund will replace a number of smaller programmes including the Small Grants and Active Together funds. This is intended to make funding easier to access and ensure investment is targeted where it can make the biggest difference.

The positive results show that activity among older people in still increasing. Activity levels for those aged 55+ are the highest they’ve been since records began, with those aged over 75 particularly driving this trend. 42.8 per cent of people aged over 75 are physically active compared to just 33.4 per cent between November 2015 and November 2016.   

Swimming levels are now back to pre-pandemic levels and the number of people playing team sports is at the highest level for six years.

Tim Hollingsworth, chief executive of Sport England said: “Today’s figures clearly demonstrate that through intelligent and targeted investment it is possible to increase activity levels and impact positively on people’s lives.

"That there are now two million more active people in England than there were when we first launched our Active Lives Survey seven years ago is down to a huge amount of work from many people and organisations working in the sport and physical activity sector – in particular since the launch of our Uniting the Movement strategy in 2021.

“To see such an increase amongst older adults getting active is significant. This group have traditionally faced many barriers from taking part in sport but – like all of us – have so much to gain from physical activity."

Cllr Liz Green, Chair of the Local Government Association’s Culture, Tourism and Sport Board, said: “Physical inactivity has not only a detrimental impact on personal health, but on the economy.

“While overall activity levels remain stable, we need to tackle the inequalities within our communities which affect access to adults based on their location, wealth, age, ethnicity and gender.

“As a nation we must prioritise physical activity and work collectively to find ways for people to build movement into everyday lives. Access to public leisure centres and green spaces is a key part of the fight to get more adults active, with Sport England data showing that they had over 165 million unique visits in 2019/20.”