Economy boosted as Sport England reports record levels of activity
Two thirds of the adult population are considered physically “active”, the highest level on record, according to Sport England’s latest annual survey.
The proportion of adults meeting the Chief Medical Officers’ threshold of 150 minutes’ moderate intensity exercise per week has risen to 64.6 per cent, the Active Lives report found.
Sport England says the figures represent an economic boost to the country too, increasing productivity and reducing the burden on the NHS.
“It’s great to see continued growth in the number of people taking part in physical activity, with more adults than ever enjoying the benefit of playing sport and moving,” said chief executive Simon Hayes.
“It is testament to the incredible work of so many people across the sector, including the millions of volunteers without whom the system could not operate.”
More than 30m people in England are now classed as active, an increase of 3.3m since researchers began collecting the data a decade ago.
Minorities still less active, Sport England finds
But there is still inequality in the numbers, with women, black and Asian people, older adults, people living with disabilities and people on lower incomes less likely to be active.
“It’s great to see that more people are getting active, but inequalities within who is taking part still exist,” said Sport Minister Stephanie Peacock.
“We believe that everyone should be able to reap the benefits of sport and physical activity. That’s why the Government is taking a place-based approach to sport funding to make sure the right facilities reach the right communities.
“We’re backing that with £250m through Sport England to reach local places with the highest levels of inactivity and at least £400m into multi-sport community facilities.”
Hayes added: “We will continue to focus our efforts on working with partners to ensure that everyone, regardless of their circumstances, has the opportunity to be physically active and enjoy the benefits it brings.
“We will be setting out more detailed plans for how we intend to do this over the next five years in the coming weeks.”