For the past four years, Active Insight has been proud to work in partnership with Max Associates, supporting their position as one of the UK’s leading experts in strategic outcomes planning, feasibility work and leisure procurement. Together, we’ve been generating exclusive insight to help local authorities, operators and system partners better understand the changing needs, motivations and behaviours of communities with an aim to inspire more people to be active.
Our latest research explores a fundamental question:
What motivates people to move and what stops them?
- What influences people to become more physically active
- What helps or hinders them when joining or using leisure centres
- What would encourage people to walk more, use parks more, or engage with local open space
- How attitudes differ by age, gender, activity level and motivation type
Understanding these factors is vital to designing better sport, leisure and wellbeing experiences. If we want to grow participation, reduce inactivity and support healthier communities, we must see things more through the consumer lens.
The Data: What We Learned About Motivation, Barriers & Behaviour
A motivated population:
- 90% reported a positive attitude towards physical health
- 78% believe being active is important or very important
- 89% want to do more
The appetite is there, but intention is not yet translating into action. Participation is happening but at a more limited rate than we would want as a sector:
- 46% achieve at least 75 minutes of moderate activity weekly
- 63% are active for 30+ minutes per day
There are plenty of people are moving already, but there is still a huge opportunity to go further. The biggest barriers preventing more participation include:
- 56% say lack of time stops them being more active
- 29% say cost is a barrier but this rises to 68% among inactive people
- Dissatisfaction with facility quality also plays a key role
In short, people want to be active, but life pressures, affordability and facility standards still get in the way, which needs to be a key focus of our communication strategy and campaigns as a sector, showing people how to workout alongside these pressures.
What matters most to users
Across the survey, the most influential behaviour-shapers were:
- Facility quality – requiring clean, modern environments
- Appropriate activities – variety is a key factor
- Cost – pricing is a key factor especially for inactive groups
The demographics really matter:
- Women prioritise safety & quality more – 87% vs 78% of men for facility quality
- Personal safety when walking is a growing concern – 61% of women vs 47% of men
- Younger adults are most time-restricted – Time drops significantly as age increases
- 45–64s respond strongly to community-led activity – Organised local opportunities matter
- Inactive people are more cost-sensitive – 68% inactive vs 54% active value affordability
Indoor exercise remains the most used route particularly swimming, gym workouts and group exercise classes, while walking, running and cycling present scalable, low-cost options for future growth.
What This Means for the Sector
The message is simple, people want to be active but they just need the right environment, access and support to make that decision easier.
With this insight, local systems can shape investment, programming and strategy in ways that meet real community need.
