The Most Active Regions in the UK Revealed

A survey of more than 7,600 UK adults published by Decathlon in their Activity Index 2018, which surveys levels of physical activity and participation in sport every month, revealed that the North East is the most active region in the UK.

Residents in this part of the country exercise more often per month than any other, doing so a 5.20 times per month on average – compared to the UK average of 4.82 times per week.

The data also painted a picture of the UK’s most physically active person.

Men aged 35-44 living in the North East are the most active, exercising or playing sport more than those of any other age, gender or region.

Those living in Northern Ireland (5.04 times) and the South West (5.03 times) in cities like Bristol and Bath were the second and third most active in the UK.

Wales (5.02 times) and Scotland (4.87 times) completed the list of the top five most active regions in the UK.

Philippe Rebelo, UK marketing director at Decathlon, commented: “It’s interesting to see how widely spread activity levels across the UK are. There is no clear North-South divide in terms of participation in sport and exercise, but it is interesting to see how low down London is on the list – being the third least active region in the UK.

“It is encouraging that it looks like, on average, British adults exercise at least once per week, even in the least active regions – but this could be higher. Playing sport or exercising needn’t be expensive – it doesn’t have to involve pricey equipment or membership fees. It can be as simple as heading out for a walk or a run. And equipment and sporting apparel can be quite affordable these days, so even when some form of padding or technical wear is required to exercise safely, it doesn’t have to break the bank.”