The Latest Active Lives Survey Shows Devonians Are More Active Than Ever

Devon residents are more active than ever according to Sport England’s latest Active Lives Survey.

Each year Sport England ask people across the country about what types of physical activity they have been engaging in and how often. The results are published in Sport England’s Active Lives Survey (ALS). The latest results for November 2021-2022, looking at adult activity levels, contain the first full year since the pandemic and have shown a quick recovery in activity levels.

68.5% of Devonians are now doing more than the recommended 150 minutes of activity each week – this is the highest it has been since the survey began and is comparable to pre-pandemic levels.  This compares to 63.10% of people across England for the same period.

Though overall activity levels have recovered to pre-pandemic levels, how we get active has shifted since before the pandemic. 1.6m more people across England now walk for leisure rather than to get from A to B. But, 1.8m fewer people travel actively now and 1.4m fewer do fitness activities.

Said Tim Howard, Partnerships Manager:

“This news is a positive step, but the recovery has not been equal for everyone. Those who were already least likely to be active have generally recovered more slowly to pre-pandemic levels, meaning the inequalities in activity levels are getting larger. This reinforces the importance of our work at Active Devon on reducing these inequalities. We will continue to strive towards a vision of everyone in Devon active for life and our mission to unlock the ability of movement to change lives for the better.”

At a Local Authority level, South Hams is the most active local authority in England, with 79.8% of people now doing more than recommended 150 minutes of activity each week.

Tim concludes:

“While this recovery from the pandemic is really positive, it was by no means a given. Across Devon, thousands of people have worked tirelessly and volunteered to help others to get active. A whopping 208,000 adults in Devon did some form of volunteering to support activity. The recovery would not have been possible without them and their energy.”