New national data from Sport England shows that more people in England are taking part in sport and physical activity than ever before. Participation continues to rise and over 30 million adults are now meeting the recommended levels of physical activity, highlighting the positive impact that sport and movement can have on health and wellbeing across the country.
This progress reflects ongoing recovery from the pandemic and sustained efforts across the sport and physical activity sector. Activities such as fitness, gym‑based exercise and walking continue to grow in popularity, helping many people to build physical activity into their everyday lives.
However, the latest Active Lives data also reinforces a clear message that not everyone is benefiting equally from this progress. Significant inequalities remain, particularly for people living in less affluent areas, disabled people and those with long‑term health conditions, older adults, women and people from some ethnic backgrounds, who are all still less likely to be active.
The data also shows that the gap between the most and least active communities is widening over time, with growth strongest in more affluent areas. This underlines the importance of place‑based approaches that focus on reducing barriers to being active and supporting communities facing the greatest challenges.
At Active Lancashire, we recognise how closely these national trends reflect the challenges and opportunities we see locally. We are currently reviewing the findings in detail to understand what they mean specifically for Lancashire. Lancashire‑level insights, including how activity patterns vary across our communities and priority groups, will be shared once this review is complete.
Tackling inequalities in physical activity requires collective action. We are committed to working alongside partners across Lancashire to ensure that everyone has fair access to opportunities to be active, regardless of where they live or their circumstances.
