IS ACCESS THE BIGGEST BARRIER TO BEING ACTIVE?

New insight from Active Insight suggests the leisure sector has an opportunity to rethink what really encourages people to be active

For years, increasing physical activity has often focused on provision, with more opportunities, more programmes and greater awareness. But new data from Active Insight suggests the answer may lie somewhere different…in how being active actually feels.

From Active Insight’s Consumer Insight Panel, generating 510 respondents, the strongest factor (34.7%) that would help people be more active was “having activities that feel enjoyable, rather than like exercise”. That puts enjoyment comfortably ahead of practical considerations such as having more time (24.3%) or activities that fit around work, family and other commitments (22.6%).

There’s an important message here for the leisure sector. People aren’t necessarily asking for more exercise, they’re asking for activity to feel easier to fit into their lives, more enjoyable and more supportive of how they want to feel. This could be a shift for the sector from selling ‘exercise’ to selling the ‘experience’.

People aren’t necessarily asking for more exercise, they’re asking for activity to feel easier to fit into their lives, more enjoyable and more supportive of how they want to feel

Mental wellbeing also featured strongly, selected by 22.2% of respondents. Just as significantly, people wanted to participate without feeling judged or intimidated, while 19.4% wanted greater confidence about being active.

The picture becomes even more interesting when we look at existing activity levels. For people already active daily or several times a week, enjoyment, time and wellbeing appear particularly important to sustaining and increasing participation. Among those who are active weekly, or a few times a month, confidence and belonging become more prominent. For people who don’t currently exercise, enjoyment, motivation and avoiding judgement could be critical to changing perceptions and reducing psychological barriers. The opportunity for our sector, therefore, isn’t simply to persuade people to exercise more, it’s to design experiences people genuinely want to return to, providing a sense of enjoyment, motivation and welcoming enough to become part of everyday life.