New survey from Sport England reveals drop in leisure cycling

The latest edition of the Active Lives Survey has revealed a fall in the number of people cycling. While the number of people cycling for travel has remained constant, 93,000 fewer people are cycling for leisure, according to the report.

Carried out annually, Sport England’s Active Lives Survey is based on a sample of almost 200,000 respondents over the age of 16. The latest covers the 12-month period from November 2016 to November 2017.

The figures show that 27.7 million people – 61.8% of the 16+ population in England – are active (defined as at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity each week – although vigorous activity counts as double).

“While the overall activity levels of the nation are stable, what people are choosing to do is moving with the times,” commented Sport England chief executive Jennie Price.

Last year’s survey suggested that around twice as many people cycle for leisure than for travel, but the former group has seen a slight fall.

According to the figures, 4,951,400 people now cycle for leisure at least twice a month, while 3,171,200 cycle for travel.

In contrast, more people are walking, both for leisure and for travel, while there has been a significant increase in the number of people doing interval training sessions such as HIIT classes. This form of exercise has seen a rise of 518,000 to 2,425,400.

Price added: “The popularity of HIIT shows the power of social media, and many older people are choosing to spend their leisure time in the great outdoors.

“Sport England has worked closely with the National Trust, the Forestry Commission and others to support more activity outdoors, and this remains a significant area of investment for us.

“The figures also show the huge importance of investing to tackle inactivity and the inequalities between different groups in society, which was highlighted in the Government’s strategy Sporting Future. It's why Sport England's 2017-21 strategy has, for the first time, allocated 25% of its investment to tackling inactivity.

"This is a long-term task but it could not be more important."