Update Wave 3: Sport England / Savanta ComRes: Survey into Adult Physical Activity Attitudes and Behaviour (April 2020)

Source: https://indd.adobe.com/view/793b48d5-bbcd-4de3-a50f-11d241a506b3

April 2020

Headlines

Adults are reporting similar levels of physical activity to the previous week, but the ‘more/less’ gap has narrowed

Compared to wave 1 more people say they are doing more than usual, and fewer say they are doing less than usual:

Wave 1: 31% more / 41% less
Wave 3: 34% more / 38% less

There is an emerging gender gap as males are more likely to be exercising more

In this wave more males report doing more (37%) than less (35%) physical activity compared to usual – a significant change from wave 1 where 29% said more and 43% said less.

Female activity levels have not changed (currently 32% more, 41% less), where participation in 30 minutes of physical activity on at least five days in the last week has fallen from wave 1 (35% to 29%).

A decline in online exercise is reported, as people adjust to exercising out of the home

Participation in online/digital exercise has declined from 23% in wave 1 to 19% in wave 3.

We have seen a significant increase in cycling compared to waves 1 and 2, from 8% to 12%.

Running/jogging has also significantly increased from wave 2 from 16% to 19%.

Fewer people this wave report worrying about leaving their home to exercise (56% compared to 60% in waves 1 and 2), suggesting people may be feeling more comfortable about exercising out of the home.

However, informal play or games at home has also seen an increase from wave 1 from 14% to 16%.

A quarter of people exercising online cited Joe Wicks as the most useful instructor or influencer (26%).

Guilt was less of a motivator to exercise over the Easter weekend

Over the Easter weekend (wave 2) fewer people felt guilty about not exercising (COM-B statement), and more people felt guilty about wanting to exercise, compared to waves 1 and 3. Other attitudes are largely unchanged this wave.

No change in children’s physical activity levels

As reported by adults, children’s physical activity levels showed no significant change this week, although there was a non-significant decrease from waves 2 to 3 in the number achieving an hour or more a day (18% to 14%).

The gap between those saying this was more or less than usual has also widened compared to wave 2 (now 32% more, 38% less) but again this was not statistically significant.

Some demographic groups are finding it much harder to be active

As in previous waves, older people, people on low incomes, people living alone and people who are self-isolating because they are at increased risk due to their age or health condition, are all finding it harder than normal to be active during the outbreak.

In this wave women, people without children in the household, and people in urban areas are also finding it harder to be active.

Please see the tables below for more detailed results.

[Sig diff: Indicates whether changes this wave are statistically significant compared to previous waves]

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY - BEHAVIOUR

Days done 30 minutes or more physical activity in last week (SIM):

	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	2-4 days	5+ days
Week 1	22%	10%	12%	14%	8%	11%	4%	18%	35%	33%
Week 2	20%	9%	13%	16%	9%	10%	4%	19%	39%	32%
Week 3	20%	9%	13%	15%	11%	10%	5%	17%	39%	32%
Sig diff	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes (w1)	No

Is this more or less physical activity than usual?

	A lot more	A bit more	Neither more or less	A bit less	A lot less	MORE	LESS
Week 1	10%	21%	28%	17%	24%	31%	41%
Week 2	9%	24%	26%	18%	22%	33%	40%
Week 3	11%	23%	26%	17%	21%	34%	38%
Sig diff	Yes (w2)	No	No	No	No	Yes (w1)	Yes (w1)

Types of physical activity, participation in last week

Type	% who did activity – week 1	% who did activity – week 2	% who did activity – week 3	Sig diff
Walking	59%	59%	60%	No
Cycling	8%	10%	12%	Yes (w2, w1)
Running or jogging	18%	16%	19%	Yes (w2)
Home activity / fitness – ONLINE	23%	21%	19%	Yes (w1)
Home activity / fitness – OFFLINE	24%	22%	22%	No
Informal play or games at home	14%	15%	16%	Yes (w1)
Other	5%	6%	6%	No
ANY HOME-BASED ACTIVITY	44%	45%	45%	No

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY - ATTITUDES

Agreement with COM-B statements

Statement	% Strongly Agree / Agree			Sig diff
Statement	Week 1	Week 2	Week 3	Sig diff
I feel that I have the ability to be physically active	68%	66%	67%	No
I feel that I have the opportunity to be physically active	65%	65%	65%	No
I find exercise enjoyable and satisfying	61%	61%	61%	No
It is important to me to exercise regularly	70%	69%	70%	No
I feel guilty when I don’t exercise	56%	51%	56%	Yes (w2)

Other current feelings about physical activity and the coronavirus

Statement	Agree – week 1	Agree – week 2	Agree – week 3	Sig diff
I exercise to help manage my physical health during the outbreak	69%	70%	70%	No
I have more time now to be physically active	65%	64%	66%	No
I exercise to help manage my mental health during the outbreak	65%	64%	63%	No
I miss the types of physical activity I was able to do before the outbreak	63%	62%	61%	No
I worry about leaving my home to exercise or be active	60%	60%	56%	Yes (w2, w1)
I have been encouraged to exercise by the Government’s guidance	53%	48%	51%	No
I feel guilty about not exercising more during the outbreak	50%	48%	50%	No
Since the outbreak I have found new ways to be active	49%	51%	50%	No
I do not find exercising on my own enjoyable	40%	43%	43%	No
The current situation has not impacted my current exercise regime	42%	43%	42%	No
I feel guilty about wanting to exercise during the outbreak	27%	31%	28%	Yes (w2)

Do people feel it is more or less important to be active at the moment?

	Much more important	Somewhat more important	No more or less important	Somewhat less important	Much less important	Don’t know	MORE	LESS
Week 1	22%	40%	29%	3%	1%	3%	62%	5%
Week 2	21%	37%	32%	3%	2%	4%	59%	5%
Week 3	23%	40%	29%	4%	1%	3%	63%	5%
Sig diff	No	No	No	No	Yes (w2)	No	Yes (w2)	No

How else has coronavirus changed feelings about physical activity? (Open response)

Top reasons (>5%) given from 585 responses:

	Week 1	Week 2	Week 3
Increased awareness of need to exercise / desire to do more	52%	56%	n/a
Scared or worried to go out	16%	14%	n/a
Important for improving mental health	10%	9%	n/a
Less motivation to do exercise / exercising less	5%	7%	n/a
Can’t go out / stuck at home	7%	6%	n/a

CHILDREN’S PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LEVELS

Average daily time spent doing physical activity (average per child in household)

	Week 1	Week 2	Week 3	Sig diff
Nothing	12%	8%	10%	No
Some, but less than half an hour	36%	35%	36%	No
Between half an hour and an hour	38%	38%	39%	No
More than an hour	14%	18%	14%	No

SOME	88%	92%	90%	No

Is this more or less than usual?

	A lot more	A bit more	Neither more or less	A bit less	A lot less	MORE	LESS
Week 1	7%	23%	31%	20%	18%	30%	38%
Week 2	8%	27%	29%	17%	18%	35%	35%
Week 3	7%	25%	29%	18%	20%	32%	38%
Sig diff	No	No	No	No	No	No	No

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY BY DEMOGRAPHIC

	% doing 30 mins on 5+ days – week 1	% doing 30 mins on 5+ days – week 2	% doing 30 mins on 5+ days – week 3	Sig diff
ALL	33%	32%	32%	No
Male	32%	35%	35%	No
Female	35%	29%	29%	Yes (w1)
16-34	34%	31%	33%	No
35-54	34%	31%	29%	Yes (w1)
55+	32%	33%	34%	No
ABC1	35%	35%	34%	No
C2DE	32%	29%	29%	No
Children in house	36%	30%	31%	Yes (w1)
No children in house	31%	33%	33%	No
Other caring responsibilities at home	32%	32%	30%
Longstanding condition or illness	26%	25%	23%	No
No longstanding condition or illness	36%	35%	36%	No
NEW: Access to private outdoor space	n/a	n/a	33%
NEW: No access to private outdoor space	n/a	n/a	28%
NE	38%	34%	43%
NW	37%	34%	33%
Y+H	40%	30%	32%
WM	34%	35%	33%
EM	28%	32%	34%
E	35%	33%	33%
L	26%	31%	23%
SE	33%	33%	33%
SW	32%	29%	34%
Urban	32%	32%	30%
Rural	39%	33%	40%

For more information

You can access the full tables for the survey.

If you have questions regarding the new survey, please get in touch via the Knowledge Hub Insight Forum.

Building the insight picture

As with most aspects of our work and lives, things are changing rapidly. Identifying opportunities to collaborate with partners to build a more detailed picture of the issues affecting the nation’s physical activity is paramount. Therefore, if you have or are aware of emerging insight that you think would be useful, we would be grateful for any details to be shared with us via insight@sportengland.org

Best wishes,

Active Partnerships Team

Sport Park, 3 Oakwood Drive, Loughborough, Leicester, LE11 3QF

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Update Wave 3: Sport England / Savanta ComRes: Survey into Adult Physical Activity Attitudes and Behaviour (April 2020)

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