There’s a serious disconnect between healthy intentions and healthy actions in the UK.
What’s happening: A PureGym report found 79% of UK respondents believe their health has become more important since the pandemic began, but when it comes to doing the work, a significant majority are falling short.
- 58% exercise at least once in a week, but 34% of the population doesn’t exercise at all.
- 64% of people in the UK feel they don’t look after their health as much as they should.
- 23% feel they aren’t healthy from any point of view (physically, mentally, emotionally, or socially).
- 14% of people in the UK are currently a member of a gym.
Between the lines: As to the why, two major themes stood out. 65% reported being too worn out or tired to maintain their health, while 36% believe they don’t have enough time to stay active. Even among gym-goers, a quarter of respondents work out for less than 29 minutes before leaving.
Time for change. Physical inactivity costs the UK healthcare system £3.5B annually. While recreation and public leisure centres have a major part to play in getting people moving, time-efficient fitness concepts are also turning up, offering a quick sweat for a busy schedule.
- HIIT brand Fiit partnered with Samsung TV on a free four-month digital subscription; it also re-upped with The Gym Group on both digital content and club-in-club classes.
- Last October, Gareth Bale’s ROWBOTS, offering a 50-minute rowing workout for mental and physical conditioning, merged with immersive rowing studio Rowcave.
- Bodystreet, known for 20-minute full-body EMS workouts, is aggressively adding to its 10 franchise locations across the UK.
Looking ahead: Small doses of exercise might be an effective route for those feeling too tired or too time-pressed. But helping them form healthier habits will require nationwide education and incentives for behavioural change.
