Physical Activity Among Adults

This topic area covers statistics and information relating to physical activity among adults in Hull including local strategic need and service provision. Further information relating to Physical Activity Among Children and Young People is given under Lifestyle Factors within Children and Young People. Physical activity information has been collected within Hull’s Health and Wellbeing Surveys and full reports are available under Surveys within Tools and Resources.

This page contains information from the Office for Health Improvement & Disparities’ Fingertips. Information is taken ‘live’ from the site so uses the latest available data from Fingertips and displays it on this page. As a result, some comments on this page may relate to an earlier period of time until this page is next updated (see review dates at the end of this page).

Headlines

• Whilst physical inactivity, together with poor diet, has an impact on obesity which is a risk factor for poor health, physical inactivity is an independent risk factor for poor physical health, and physical activity can also improve mental health.
• It is estimated that physical inactivity is costing the UK around £7.4 billion a year including £0.9 billion to the NHS alone.
• The levels of physical inactivity in Hull are high, and there is a strong association with deprivation. This impacts on levels of obesity in Hull which are high, as well as increasing the risk of poor physical and mental health. However, it is further likely that obesity and mental health impact on levels of physical activity too.
• In the local Health and Wellbeing Survey conducted during 2019, 41% of people fulfilled the national physical activity guidelines of 150 minutes or more of moderate or vigorous physical activity per week, but 44% were classified as inactive as they undertook fewer than 30 minutes moderate or vigorous physical activity per week. Compared to the local survey conducted during 2014, physical activity levels have decreased with fewer people fulfilling the national guidelines (although similar percentages inactive).
• In the national Active Lives Survey, a higher percentage of Hull’s residents were estimated to fulfil the national guidelines (55% for 2020/21) and fewer were inactive (32% for 2020/21), but it is likely that the local survey gives more robust results due to the much larger numbers surveyed as well and the survey methodology employed.
• The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant effect on people’s activity levels. In general, there has been an increase in inactivity. There has also been an impact on the types of activities with fewer people getting their ‘minutes’ of physical activity from traditional sports and fitness activities to more people getting their physical activity from walking and gardening.

The Population Affected – Why Is It Important?

Whatever a person’s age, there is good scientific evidence that being physically active can help them lead a healthier and happier life. Lack of physical activity may increase the risk of obesity and its associated health risks, but there is increasing evidence that lack of physical activity and inactivity is a major risk factor in its own right increasing the risk of circulatory disease, diabetes, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, and some cancers. There is also strong evidence that physical activity promotes mental wellbeing, boosting self-esteem, mood, sleep quality, and energy, as well as easing stress and anxiety.

The Office for Health Improvement & Disparities (formerly Public Health England) estimate that this lack of physical activity is costing the UK £7.4 billion a year, including £0.9 billion to the NHS alone.

The Chief Medical Officer guidelines for physical activity sets out the amount and type of activities for health benefits for different age groups from babies to older adults, stating that some physical activity is good, more is better. It is recommended that physical activity levels should be 150 minutes every week throughout pregnancy, three hours every day from birth to five years, at least an hour a day for five to 18 year olds, 75 minutes of vigorous intensity or 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity for adults aged 19-64 years, and 150 minutes of at least light intensity physical activity for adults aged 65+ years.

In general, the more time spent being physically active, the greater the health benefits. However, the gains are especially significant for those currently doing the lowest levels of activity (fewer than 30 minutes per week), as the improvements in health per additional minute of physical activity will be proportionately greater.

The Hull Picture

Local Health and Wellbeing Survey 2019

From the local adult Health and Wellbeing Survey 2019, 41% fulfilled the national guidelines (150 minutes or more of moderate intensity physical activity per week).  There was a strong association with age and deprivation. Due to the association with age, there was also a strong association between fulfilling the national physical activity guidelines, and employment status and household composition. Among survey responders aged under 65 years, the single person households had a higher percentage of males aged 35-64 years (42% versus 24% for all other households type where the survey responder was aged under 65 years) and females aged 55-64 years (19% versus 8% for all other households types where the survey responder was aged under 65 years). So it appears that this group could include people who are separated or divorced as well as single individuals.

There have been changes to the physical activity guidance for adults aged 65+ years since the local 2019 survey was conducted with light activity now counting towards fulfilling the national guidelines for those aged 65+ years, but the local analysis uses moderate or vigorous activity levels for all.

Health status also had a significantly impact on physical activity levels. People who stated that their health was excellent or very good and those who did not have any illness or disabilities that limited their daily activities were much more likely to undertake the recommended levels of physical activity with around half doing so, compared to only 13% of those with poor health, and 24% of those with long-term illnesses or disabilities that limited their daily activities. However, younger people were more likely to fulfil the national physical activity guidelines and they were also more likely to have better health so age is a confounder here. People were asked to rate their satisfaction with life, feelings of their life being worthwhile, happiness yesterday and anxiety yesterday on a scale of 0 (not at all) to 10 (completely). Poor, moderate and good levels were classified as having scores of 0-4, 5-7 and 8-10 respectively for the first three questions and as having scores of 6-10, 3-5 and 0-2 for the final question on anxiety. People who had the poorest wellbeing were the least likely to be physically active, although there was relatively small difference in physical activity by levels of anxiety.

Overall, 44% of people aged 16+ years in Hull were inactive (fewer than 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity per week), again there was a strong association with age and deprivation. This equates to around 92,300 adults in Hull who are physically inactive and an additional 31,650 people who are not classified as physical inactive but do not fulfil the national physical activity guidelines. Thus, in total it is estimated that 123,900 people in Hull do not fulfil the national physical activity guidelines of 150+ minutes of moderate intensity activity per week.

As expected, given the strong association between physical activity and physical health and emotional wellbeing above, there was also a strong association between health and physical inactivity, but as mentioned above age will be a confounding factor (and other factors too).

However, examining this and other factors further there is a very strong association with feelings of safety in the local area (whilst walking alone during the daytime, after dark and alone at night at home) and the frequency of use of local parks. Feelings of safety are all associated with age, gender, deprivation, and limiting long-term illness and disability. Age, gender, deprivation, limiting long-term illness and disability, body mass index are all statistically significant independent predicators of physical inactivity. This means that after taking into account all these factors, each factor listed still has an influence on levels of physical inactivity. Furthermore, after taking into consideration age, gender, deprivation and limiting long-term illness and disability, physical activity levels are also associated with the use of parks and the perception of safety during the day. Although if we additionally take body mass index into account as well as age, gender, deprivation and limiting long-term illness and disability, physical activity levels are also associated with the use of parks (and the perception of safety during the day is no longer statistically significant).

Physical activity levels in the local survey can be broken down into the degree of physical activity over and above the two ‘active’ and ‘inactive’ classifications above as the number of minutes of light physical activity was also collected within the local survey. The pale blue category at the top denotes the ‘active’ group above fulfilling the national guidelines of 150+ minutes of moderate/vigorous activity per week.

There are some positive findings from the survey in relation to activity levels as there are a significant proportions of people undertaking some physical activity who might be nudged slightly to increase either their intensity levels or number of minutes throughout the week in order to fulfil the national physical activity guidelines.

The proportions below shaded in brown are undertaking 30-149 minutes of moderate or vigorous intensity physical activity per week, and the proportions below shaded in green are undertaking 150+ minutes of light physical activity per week (in fact those aged 65+ years in green would be classified as ‘active’ and fulfilling the national guidance with the relatively new physical activity guidance for those aged 65+ years). These two groups represent a sizeable proportion of individuals who are currently classified as ‘inactive’ based on the local Health and Wellbeing Survey 2019.

Change in Physical Activity Levels Over Time in Local Surveys

Local Health and Wellbeing Surveys have been conducted in Hull since 2003 for adults, although over that time period the national guidance for physical activity has changed, and this has resulted in necessary changes to the questions that were asked in the surveys in relation to physical activity levels. This means that it is not possible to compare trends over time over a long period of time, and only possible to compare the latest survey results of 2019 with previous survey conducted in 2014.

The age-standardised percentages of adults who are inactive (undertaking fewer than 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week), who are in the intermediate group (undertaking 30+ minutes but fewer than 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week) and who are active (undertaking 150+ minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week) is given for men and women for 2019 compared to 2014.

For men, the percentage who are active has reduced from 51% to 46% and the percentage who are inactive has increased from 39% to 41% between 2014 and 2019. Among women, the percentage who were active has also reduced from 40% to 36%, but the percentage who are inactive has remained relatively unchanged (from 47% to 46%). Thus physical activity levels have reduced among Hull men and women over the five year period.

National Active Lives Survey

From the Office for Health Improvement & Disparities’ Fingertips, in 2021/22, 59% of adults aged 19+ years were physically active fulfilling the national physical activity guidelines, and 31% were inactive undertaking fewer than 30 minutes of physical activity per week. More people in England (67%) were active and fewer people were inactive (22%), so physical activity levels were lower in Hull.

There is a large difference in these estimates compared to the local adult Health and Wellbeing Survey. The national data comes from the Active Lives Survey conducted by Sport England, and there are fewer than 500 people in Hull who participate in the survey. The local adult Health and Wellbeing Survey conducted in 2019 involved over 4,000 survey responders and from the way the survey was conducted there was good representation of survey responders across both genders, all age groups and across Hull’s wards. Therefore, it is much more likely that the measures of physical activity undertaken in the local survey are more representative of the actual levels undertaken across all of Hull’s adult population. Nevertheless, it is likely that these will represent the ‘official’ figures for physical activity in Hull, and for completeness the data from the Active Lives Survey is presented here.

The percentage of adults who are physical active in Hull is statistically significantly lower than England, and is the lowest across the Yorkshire and Humber region. Furthermore, the percentage of adults who are physical inactive is also statistically significantly higher than England, and the percentage is also the lowest across the region.

Whilst it is felt that the results from the Active Lives Survey does not reflect physical activity levels in Hull, it is more likely that any comparison with other geographical places is more robust (although given Hull’s high deprivation levels and the influence of deprivation on survey response rate does mean that there is also some degree of uncertainty in relation to comparisons too). Furthermore, it is likely that the trends over time will be more similar to the actual trend. From the local survey data, it is just anticipated that the actual percentages differ.

Based on the Active Lives Survey, the percentage of adults physically active has been consistently around 60% for Hull, although as mentioned previously the figure in the local surveys have been just above 40%, although in 2020/21, the levels fell in the Active Lives Survey to 55% for Hull.

It is likely that physical activity levels changed during the COVID-19 pandemic with some individuals undertaking more physical activity, but it would appear from this that there were more individuals undertaking less physical activity. The type of physical activity undertaken during the lockdowns for the COVID-19 pandemic also changed with more walking, cycling and gardening, and less physical activity from organised sport like football and rugby and at locations that were closed during the lockdowns such as gyms, swimming pools and sports centres.

Based on the Active Lives Survey, the percentage of adults physically inactive has been between 24% and 32% for Hull, although as mentioned previously the figure in the local surveys have been around 43%, although the percentage in Hull has increased for 2020/21.

Further information is available on the Active Lives Survey directly through the Query Builder on the Sport England website.

Whilst the data on Fingertips come from the Active Lives Survey, there are some slight differences in the definitions. The focus for Sport England and thus the Active Lives Survey is on sport and organised activity, whereas the Office for Health Improvement & Disparities focus is on physical activity. Information is collected on non-sporting activities like gardening within the Active Lives Survey, but it is not included in their definition of physical activity. So any ‘hours’ of physical activity for gardening does not contribute to the 150 minutes of moderate or vigorous physical activity. Whereas the definition on the Office for Health Improvement & Disparities’ Fingertips does includes gardening. Nevertheless, the pattern is clear in the reduction of physical activity levels among Hull’s residents from the Active Lives Survey with a higher percentage being inactive and a lower percentage fulfilling the national guidelines of 150 minutes of physical activity per week. As mentioned, whilst the overall levels of physical activity differ substantially between the Active Lives Survey and the local Health and Wellbeing Survey, it is likely that the overall trend in the Active Lives Survey is a reasonable representation of the actual trends (just at a different level).

Impact of COVID-19 on Physical Activity

The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on physical activity levels both nationally and in Hull with reduced levels of physical activity as well as a change in the types of physical activity.

Across England as illustrated by data from the Active Lives Survey, there has been a substantial reduction in the number of minutes of physical activity undertaken in traditional sports and fitness activities (like the gym), and an increase in walking and gardening, and an increase in cycling among women. The size of the pie chart below is proportionate to the percentage of people undertaking physical activity, and it can be seen that the number of people undertaking physical activity in 2020 compared to 2016-19 has reduced at a national level. The pattern of activities may be slightly different in Hull to those observed nationally, but it is likely that there has also been a change in the types of activities undertaken in Hull as well.

Strategic Need and Service Provision

Public Health England’s (now Office for Health Improvement & Disparities) national physical activity framework ‘Everybody Active, Every Day’ identifies four areas of local and national action: (i) Active Society – change the social norm to make physical activity the expectation; (ii) Moving Professionals – develop expertise and leadership within professionals and volunteers; (iii) Active Environments – create environments to support active lives; and (iv) Healthy at Work – identify and upscale successful programs nationwide.

As mentioned above, there are physical activity guidelines in place, and the more time spent being physically active the greater the health benefits. The gains are the highest among those currently doing the lowest levels of activity as the improvements in health per additional minute of physical activity will be proportionately greater.

In order to help people to fulfil the physical activity guidelines and increase their physical activity, it is necessary to work together to create an environment that promotes physical activity and active transport in everyday settings for all ages, and ensure people understand the benefit of positive life choices and know how to access information and seek early support to change.

Hull’s Towards an Active Hull Partnership has developed a 10 year physical activity strategy: ‘Towards an Active Hull’ with the overarching aim to move 10,000 inactive adults to be active to bring Hull in line to national levels of activity, reduce levels of inactive children and lessen inequalities. The four strategic pillars for action identified in the strategy are: Active Design / Active Recreation / Sports & Volunteering / Active Travel. There is also an emphasis on social marketing to encourage people to ‘just make small steps to make big changes’.

Resources

Chief Medical Officers guidelines for physical activity: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/832868/uk-chief-medical-officers-physical-activity-guidelines.pdf

Local Health and Wellbeing Surveys

Office for Health Improvement & Disparities, 2014. Everybody active, every day: framework for physical activity: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/everybody-active-every-day-a-framework-to-embed-physical-activity-into-daily-life

Office for Health Improvement & Disparities, 2021. Everybody active, every day: 5 years on. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/everybody-active-every-day-5-years-on/everybody-active-every-day-5-years-on

Hull’s Towards an Active Hull: https://www.hcandl.co.uk/sites/hcandl/files/media/Towards%20An%20Active%20Hull.pdf

Get Hull Active: www.gethullactive.co.uk

Sport England. Active Lives Adult Survey: Query Builder. https://activelives.sportengland.org/AdultQuery/QueryBuilder

Updates

This page was last updated / checked on 2 March 2023.

This page is due to be updated / checked in September 2023.