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The last year in stats

A selection of stats to illustrate how the pandemic has impacted our industry

Published in Health Club Handbook 2021 issue 1
40% of the UK population exercised less in lockdown 3 than the first lockdown / Shutterstock
40% of the UK population exercised less in lockdown 3 than the first lockdown/ Shutterstock

A study by Savanta ComRes found 51% of respondents rank exercise in the top three ways of how to help the NHS

58% said they managed their physical and mental health during lockdown by being active

A Mindbody survey found 60% of Americans say the pandemic has brought home the message they need to be more healthy to withstand disease

According to Sport England, only 18% of women who follow fitness influencers find their highly polished and curated personalities relatable

Virtuagym customer survey found 51% of gyms used fitness trackers to assist clients meet their goals during lockdown and fitness app usage increased by 340%

For every 100,000 visits to UK gyms and leisure centres in 2020 only 1.7 people went on to test positive for COVID (ukactive)

52% of people surveyed by YouGov felt lockdown restrictions had a negative impact on mental health. Of these, 59% were women; 66% were aged 25 to 34 and 57% had children

According to ukactive, the physical activity sector lost around £400m a month during the lockdowns, and it costs the NHS £7.25m a week in lost social value, based on the loss of health interventions usually provided by the sector

A survey by sports retailer, Decathlon, found London to be the gym capital of the UK, with 43% saying the gym is their preferred fitness activity

Public Health England found 70% of adults want to get healthier in 2021 due to the threats posed by Covid

80% of people over 18 have made the decision to change their lifestyle

According to Activity Alliance, 81% of disabled people want to be more physically active but are unable to as the demand for their need is not being met by operators. Sport England figures showed that disabled people are twice as likely to be inactive as non-disabled

UCL research showed 40% of the UK population exercised less in lockdown 3 than the first lockdown and were spending more time doing sedentary activities

Sport England’s Active Lives Children and Young People Survey showed that 44.9% of children and young people in England met the recommended levels of exercise (60 minutes or more a day) during 2020

Digital Health Generation: 70% of young people – some as young as 8 – are using apps, YouTube videos and digital online technologies to track and manage aspects of their health

University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine found that 95% of those who follow a weight loss programme with a friend are successful compared with 76% who go it alone

Global Wellness Institute: mental wellbeing is a US$121bn (€101.6bn, £91.8bn) segment of the global wellness economy

University of Glasgow: from 2003 to 2017 deaths attributable to excess body fat and obesity have increased from 17.9% to 23.1%

Leisure-net found that 69% of gym goers who returned between July and November 2020 were confident in the facility’s COVID related systems and 35% were more confident at the gym than other public places. 12% said they weren’t confident at all

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