Sport England fears progress on activity levels could be undone by pandemic

• Survey in November suggested more people were exercising
• Those in lower socio-economic groups less likely to be active

Physical activity in England was at its highest ever level before the coronavirus outbreak, a new report has found, but there is emerging evidence that those gains could be undone because of the disruption caused by the pandemic.

The Sport England Active Lives Survey of 181,535 people in the 12 months to November 2019 found that 28.6m adults in England (63.3%) met the chief medical officer’s recommended 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity a week – an increase of 404,600 people on the previous 12 months. That improvement was largely driven by more women, adults aged 55 and over, and people with disabilities or long-term health conditions, becoming more active – inspired in part by campaigns such as This Girl Can.

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