The Active Lives Children and Young People Survey, which was established in September 2017, provides a world-leading approach to gathering data on how children engage with sport and physical activity. This school-based survey is the first and largest established physical activity survey with children and young people in England. It gives anyone working with children aged 5-16 key insight to help understand children's attitudes and behaviours around sport and physical activity. The results will shape and influence local decision-making as well as inform government policy on the PE and Sport Premium, Childhood Obesity Plan and other cross-departmental programmes. More general information about the study can be found on the Sport England Active Lives Survey webpage and the Active Lives Online website, including reports and data tables.

Due to the closure of school sites during the coronavirus pandemic, the Active Lives Children and Young People survey was adapted to allow at-home completion. This approach was retained into the academic year 2022-23 to help maximise response numbers. The at-home completion approach was actively offered for secondary school pupils, and allowed but not encouraged for primary pupils.

The adaptions involved minor questionnaire changes (e.g., to ensure the wording was appropriate for those not attending school and enabling completion at home) and communication changes. For further details on the survey changes, please see the accompanying User Guide document. Academic years 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23 saw a more even split of responses by term across the year, compared to 2019-20, which had a reduced proportion of summer term responses due to the disruption caused by Covid-19.

The survey identifies how participation varies across different activities and sports, by regions of England, between school types and terms, and between different demographic groups in the population. The survey measures levels of activity (active, fairly active and less active), attitudes towards sport and physical activity, swimming capability, the proportion of children and young people that volunteer in sport, sports spectating, and wellbeing measures such as happiness and life satisfaction. The questionnaire was designed to enable analysis of the findings by a broad range of variables, such as gender, family affluence and school year.

The following datasets have been provided:

1) Main dataset: this file includes responses from children and young people from school years 3 to 11, as well as responses from parents of children in years 1-2. The parents of children in years 1-2 provide behavioural answers about their child’s activity levels; they do not provide attitudinal information. Using this main dataset, full analyses can be carried out into sports and physical activity participation, levels of activity, volunteering (years 5 to 11), etc. Weighting is required when using this dataset (wt_gross / wt_gross - Csplan files are available for SPSS users who can utilise them).

2) Year 1-2 dataset: This file includes responses directly from children in school years 1-2, providing their attitudinal responses (e.g., whether they like playing sport and find it easy). Analysis can also be carried out into feelings towards swimming, enjoyment of being active, happiness, etc. Weighting is required when using this dataset (wt_gross / wt_gross - Csplan files are available for SPSS users who can utilise them).

3) Teacher dataset: This file includes responses from the teachers at schools selected for the survey. Analysis can be carried out to determine school facilities available, the length of PE lessons, whether swimming lessons are offered, etc. Since December 2023, Sport England has provided weighting for the teacher data (‘wt_teacher’ weighting variable).

For further information, please read the supporting documentation before using the datasets.

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

The Active Lives Children and Young People Survey, which was established in September 2017, provides a world-leading approach to gathering data on how children engage with sport and physical activity. This school-based survey is the first and largest established physical activity survey with children and young people in England. It gives anyone working with children aged 5-16 key insight to help understand children's attitudes and behaviours around sport and physical activity. The results will shape and influence local decision-making as well as inform government policy on the PE and Sport Premium, Childhood Obesity Plan and other cross-departmental programmes. More general information about the study can be found on the Sport England Active Lives Survey webpage and the Active Lives Online website, including reports and data tables.

The Active Lives Children and Young People Survey, 2017-2018 commenced during school academic year 2017 / 2018. It ran from autumn term 2017 to summer term 2018 and excludes school holidays. The survey identifies how participation varies across different activities and sports, by regions of England, between school types and terms, and between different demographic groups in the population. The survey measures levels of activity (active, fairly active and less active), attitudes towards sport and physical activity, swimming capability, the proportion of children and young people that volunteer in sport, sports spectating, and wellbeing measures such as happiness and life satisfaction. The questionnaire was designed to enable analysis of the findings by a broad range of variables, such as gender, family affluence and school year.

The following datasets are available:

1) Main dataset includes responses from children and young people from school years 3 to 11, as well as responses from parents of children in years 1-2. The parents of children in years 1-2 provide behavioural answers about their child's activity levels, they do not provide attitudinal information. Using this main dataset, full analyses can be carried out into sports and physical activity participation, levels of activity, volunteering (years 5 to 11), etc. Weighting is required when using this dataset (wt_gross / wt_set1.csplan).

2) Year 1-2 pupil dataset includes responses from children in school years 1-2 directly, providing their attitudinal responses (e.g. whether they like playing sport and find it easy). Analysis can be carried out into feelings towards swimming, enjoyment for being active, happiness etc. Weighting is required when using this dataset (wt_gross / wt_set1.csplan).

3) Teacher dataset includes responses from the teachers at schools selected for the survey. Analysis can be carried out into school facilities available, length of PE lessons, whether swimming lessons are offered, etc. Weighting was formerly not available, however, as Sport England have started to publish the Teacher data, from December 2023 we decide to apply weighting to the data. The Teacher dataset now includes weighting by applying the ‘wt_teacher’ weighting variable.

For further information about the variables available for analysis, and the relevant school years asked survey questions, please see the supporting documentation. Please read the documentation before using the datasets.

Latest edition information

For the second edition (January 2024), the Teacher dataset now includes a weighting variable (‘wt_teacher’). Previously, weighting was not available for these data.

Main Topics:

Topics covered in the Active Lives Children and Young People Survey include:

• Sport and physical activity participation
• Well-being
• Health

The Active Lives Survey (ALS) commenced in November 2015. It replaces the Active People Survey, which ran from 2005 to 2015. The survey provides the largest sample size ever established for a sport and recreation survey and allows levels of detailed analysis previously unavailable. It identifies how participation varies from place to place, across different sports, and between different groups in the population. The survey also measures levels of activity (active, fairly active and inactive), the proportion of the adult population that volunteer in sports on a weekly basis, club membership, sports spectating and wellbeing measures such as happiness and anxiety, etc. The questionnaire was designed to enable analysis of the findings by a broad range of demographic information, such as gender, social class, ethnicity, household structure, age, and disability.

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic developed rapidly during 2020 and 2021. Fieldwork for the Active Lives survey continued throughout the pandemic, which covered periods Nov 2019-20 and Nov 2020-21. The data from Nov 2021-22 onwards covers periods without any coronavirus restrictions.

More general information about the study can be found on the Sport England Active Lives Survey webpage and the Active Lives Online website, including reports and data tables.

Data Formats
Users should note that the Active Lives data are deposited in SPSS format. The UKDS also provides the data in Stata and tab-delimited formats, but due to the differing nature of the SPSS and Stata software packages and the structure of the Active Lives data, Stata users may experience some issues with labels or variable formats. We therefore recommend that users analyse the data in SPSS where possible.

Latest edition information

For the second edition (February 2025), the data file was resupplied, with an updated County Sports Partnership variable (CSP_2025), an updated inequalities metric variable (equalities_metric_2024_GR4), and new cultural activities variables (library visits, arts participation/visits, frequency) included.

% of physically active and inactive adults - active adults

Provider of this data is Public Health England based on Active Lives (self-report survey) and Sport England.
The number of respondents aged 19 and over, with valid responses to questions on physical activity, doing at least 150 moderate intensity equivalent (MIE) minutes physical activity per week in bouts of 10 minutes or more in the previous 28 days expressed as a percentage of the total number of respondents aged 19 and over.

The Active Lives Survey (ALS) commenced in November 2015. It replaces the Active People Survey, which ran from 2005 to 2015. The survey provides the largest sample size ever established for a sport and recreation survey and allows levels of detailed analysis previously unavailable. It identifies how participation varies from place to place, across different sports, and between different groups in the population. The survey also measures levels of activity (active, fairly active and inactive), the proportion of the adult population that volunteer in sports on a weekly basis, club membership, sports spectating and wellbeing measures such as happiness and anxiety, etc. The questionnaire was designed to enable analysis of the findings by a broad range of demographic information, such as gender, social class, ethnicity, household structure, age, and disability.

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic developed rapidly during 2020 and 2021. Fieldwork for the Active Lives survey continued throughout the pandemic, which covered periods Nov 2019-20 and Nov 2020-21. The data from Nov 2021-22 onwards covers periods without any coronavirus restrictions.

More general information about the study can be found on the Sport England Active Lives Survey webpage and the Active Lives Online website, including reports and data tables.

Data Formats
Users should note that the Active Lives data are deposited in SPSS format. The UKDS also provides the data in Stata and tab-delimited formats, but due to the differing nature of the SPSS and Stata software packages and the structure of the Active Lives data, Stata users may experience some issues with labels or variable formats. We therefore recommend that users analyse the data in SPSS where possible.

This is the estimated percentage of adults aged 16 and over in the local area who are active. These estimates include the activities of walking, cycling, dance, fitness and sporting activities, but exclude gardening which is outside of Sport England's remit. Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) publish physical activity data for adults aged 19+ that includes gardening. Activity is counted in moderate intensity equivalent minutes whereby each 'moderate' minute counts as one minute and each 'vigorous' minute counts as two moderate minutes. Depending on the number of minutes of moderate intensity equivalent (MIE) physical activity, people are described as being:

Inactive - Doing less than 30 minutes a week Fairly Active - Doing 30-149 minutes a week Active - Doing at least 150 minutes a week

Moderate activity is defined as where you raise your heart rate and feel a little out of breath. Vigorous activity is where you are breathing hard and fast and your heart rate has increased significantly (you will not be able to say more than a few words without pausing for breath). When making comparisons between figures, some differences seen may not be significant differences and so a degree of caution should be made before making conclusions. The survey was adapted during the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey sample is randomly selected from the Royal Mail’s Postal Address File ensuring a very high coverage of private residential addresses. The target sample size for each English local authority (excluding the City of London and Isles of Scilly) is 500 returns. Data may be suppressed for an area where the threshold of 30 is not reached. Population totals are created using Office for National Statistics (ONS) mid-year population estimates. Data is sourced from the adult Active Lives November to November survey.

Data is Powered by LG Inform Plus and automatically checked for new data on the 3rd of each month.

Physical inactivity within an ageing population is an ongoing public health concern for policymakers. Engagement in sport forms a foundation of policy designed to encourage physical activity participation and improve health and wellbeing. This study aimed to (i) understand the extent to which older adults participate in sport and the (ii) correlates that predict this involvement within an English population sample of older adults. A further aim was (iii) to examine the extent in which sports participation may vary due to the opportunity provided across Active Partnerships in England. To address this, a multi-level analysis framed through COM-B was conducted of the 2021 English Active Lives dataset (i.e., during the COVID-19 pandemic). The Active Lives survey provides population-level insight into sport, exercise, and physical activity participation across England. It samples upwards of n = 180,000 participants beyond the age of 16 years and asks questions on factors that influence participation. Our findings drawn from a sample of n = 68,808 older adults (i.e., >60-years of age) indicate that when accounting for variation across regions sports participation was significantly predicted by age (β = -.246, p = .040) and multiple deprivation (β  = .706, p = .030). Further, our analysis suggests sports participation across regions is associated with changes in the perceptions of opportunity to participate (β = -28.70, p = .001). As the UK transitions from the COVID-19 pandemic, findings have implications for the promotion of sports participation for older adults, in that local, regional, and national stakeholders must do more to change perceptions of social and physical opportunity within an ageing population. This may be achieved through adaptations to the recreational sporting landscape, raising awareness, and supportive policy changes on a national level.

The percentage of adults (aged 16 and over) that responded to the question "How often do you feel lonely?" with "Always or often" or "Some of the time"

Rationale At the beginning of 2018, the Prime Minister highlighted the issue of loneliness, announcing a Minister for Loneliness and committing to develop a national strategy to help tackle loneliness and a national measure for loneliness.

The national strategy, A Connected Society: A Strategy for Tackling Loneliness, was published on 15 October 2018. The commitments made by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS England in the strategy identify loneliness to be a serious public health concern.

In keeping with the Loneliness Strategy, loneliness is defined here as: “a subjective, unwelcome feeling of lack or loss of companionship. It happens when we have a mismatch between the quantity and quality of social relationships that we have, and those that we want.” This is based on a definition first suggested by Perlman and Peplau in 1981(1).

Loneliness is a feeling that most people will experience at some point in their lives. When people feel lonely most or all of the time, it can have a serious impact on an individual’s well-being and their ability to function in society. Feeling lonely frequently is linked to early deaths and its health impact is thought to be on a par with other public health priorities like obesity or smoking.

Lonely people are more likely to be readmitted to hospital or have a longer stay. There is also evidence that lonely people are more likely to visit a General Practitioner or Accident and Emergency and more likely to enter local authority funded residential care.

At work, higher loneliness among employees is associated with poorer performance on tasks and in a team, while social interaction at work has been linked to increased productivity.

Loneliness can affect anyone of any age and background. It is important to measure loneliness because the evidence on loneliness is currently much more robust and extensive on loneliness in older people, but much less for other age groups including children and young people.

If more people measure loneliness in the same way, we will build a much better evidence base more quickly. That’s why the Prime Minister asked the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to develop national indicators of loneliness for people of all ages, suitable for use on major studies.

When reporting the prevalence of loneliness, ONS advise using the responses from the direct question, “How often do you feel lonely?” The inclusion of the direct loneliness measure in the Public Health Outcomes Framework (PHOF) will help inform and focus future work on loneliness at both a national and local level, providing a focus to support strategic leadership, policy decisions and service commissioning.

In this first set of data on loneliness prevalence at a local authority level, we have merged the two most frequent categories of feeling lonely (often or always and some of the time). This is due to small sample sizes and the limitations of this data will be explained in more detail in the caveats section.

This will be replaced next year by a 2-year pooled dataset which will have large enough sample sizes to report chronic loneliness. Presenting the data this year will help local authorities to work preventatively to tackle chronic loneliness by showing whether a local area has higher than national average levels of loneliness.

(1) Perlman D and Peplau LA (1981) 'Toward a Social Psychology of Loneliness', in Gilmour R and Duck S (eds.), Personal Relationships. 3, Personal Relationships in Disorder, London: Academic Press, pp. 31–56.

Definition of numerator Weighted number of respondents aged 16 and over, with a valid response to the question "How often do you feel lonely" that answered "Always or often" or "Some of the time". Active Lives Adult Survey data is collected November to November.

Definition of denominator Weighted number of respondents aged 16 and over, with a valid response to the question "How often do you feel lonely?".Denominator values in the Download data are unweighted counts. All analyses for this indicator have been weighted to be representative of the population of England.Active Lives Adult Survey data is collected November to November.

Caveats

Due to the sample size at local authority level, the "often or always" category is merged with the next most severe category of loneliness (people who respond as feeling lonely “some of the time”).

Standard practice is to report the two categories separately. However, data from other sources shows a degree of volatility in the ratio between these categories at the local authority (LA) level.

Therefore, there is a risk that when two local authorities are both reported as having 25% of people feeling lonely (often or always combined with some of the time), the actual figures for "often or always" might differ significantly. For example, one LA might have 24% often and always while another has only 3%, which would not be apparent in the combined category.

This could lead to underestimation or overestimation of chronic loneliness levels by local authorities.

SUMMARYTo be viewed in combination with the ‘Levels of obesity, inactivity and associated illnesses: Summary (England)’ dataset.This dataset shows where there was no data* relating to one of more of the following factors:Obesity/inactivity-related illnesses (recorded at the GP practice catchment area level*)Adult obesity (recorded at the GP practice catchment area level*)Inactivity in children (recorded at the district level)Excess weight in children (recorded at the Middle Layer Super Output Area level)* GPs do not have catchments that are mutually exclusive from each other: they overlap, with some geographic areas being covered by 30+ practices.GP data for the financial year 1st April 2018 – 31st March 2019 was used in preference to data for the financial year 1st April 2019 – 31st March 2020, as the onset of the COVID19 pandemic during the latter year could have affected the reporting of medical statistics by GPs. However, for 53 GPs (out of 7670) that did not submit data in 2018/19, data from 2019/20 was used instead. This dataset identifies areas where data from 2019/20 was used, where one or more GPs did not submit data in either year (this could be because there are rural areas that aren’t officially covered by any GP practices), or where there were large discrepancies between the 2018/19 and 2019/20 data (differences in statistics that were > mean +/- 1 St.Dev.), which suggests erroneous data in one of those years (it was not feasible for this study to investigate this further), and thus where data should be interpreted with caution.Results of the ‘Levels of obesity, inactivity and associated illnesses: Summary (England)’ analysis in these areas should be interpreted with caution, particularly if the levels of obesity, inactivity and associated illnesses appear to be significantly lower than in their immediate surrounding areas.Really small areas with ‘missing’ data were deleted, where it was deemed that missing data will not have impacted the overall analysis (i.e. where GP data was missing from really small countryside areas where no people live).See also Health and wellbeing statistics (GP-level, England): Missing data and potential outliers dataDATA SOURCESThis dataset was produced using:- Quality and Outcomes Framework data: Copyright © 2020, Health and Social Care Information Centre. The Health and Social Care Information Centre is a non-departmental body created by statute, also known as NHS Digital.- National Child Measurement Programme: Copyright © 2020, Health and Social Care Information Centre. The Health and Social Care Information Centre is a non-departmental body created by statute, also known as NHS Digital. - Active Lives Survey 2019: Sport and Physical Activity Levels amongst children and young people in school years 1-11 (aged 5-16). © Sport England 2020.- Active Lives Survey 2019: Sport and Physical Activity Levels amongst adults aged 16+. © Sport England 2020.- GP Catchment Outlines. Copyright © 2020, Health and Social Care Information Centre. The Health and Social Care Information Centre is a non-departmental body created by statute, also known as NHS Digital. Data was cleaned by Ribble Rivers Trust before use.- Administrative boundaries: Boundary-LineTM: Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2021. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.- MSOA boundaries: © Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2021.COPYRIGHT NOTICEThe reproduction of this data must be accompanied by the following statement:© Ribble Rivers Trust 2021. Analysis carried out using data that is: Copyright © 2020, Health and Social Care Information Centre. The Health and Social Care Information Centre is a non-departmental body created by statute, also known as NHS Digital; © Sport England 2020; © Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2021. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.CaBA HEALTH & WELLBEING EVIDENCE BASEThis dataset forms part of the wider CaBA Health and Wellbeing Evidence Base.

The data were collected during the Fall semester of 2017 from 581 freshmen enrolled at Oral Roberts University in a class entitled “Introduction to Whole Person Education” which has a required health and physical exercise component consisting of: Steps and Active Minutes goals, a 1-mile field test, and a lifestyle assessment survey. Students utilize a Fitbit to help keep track of their steps and active minutes which are synced with the course gradebook. The student’s semester grade point average was added once the semester was complete. As the grades were retrieved and stored, the dataset was de-identified to ensure confidentiality.

In 2022, according to the Active Lives Survey(ALS) in England, the share of adults who walked for leisure at least five times a week was eight percentage points higher than the the share of adults who walked for the purpose of travel. This was observable in all the groups of walking frequency -according to the survey, adults tend to go on leisure walks twice as much as walking for travel purposes.

Perception and confidence statements of respondents.

Content

The dataset comprises of survey of a nationally representative sample of U.S. municipalities to better understand existing community-level policies and practices that support healthy eating and active living.

Inspiration Compare policies and practices between municipalities of different sizes, geographic regions, or urban statuses. Identify best practices among municipalities with better health outcomes.

Group municipalities based on similarities in their policies and practices to identify patterns or common characteristics among high-performing communities.

Evaluate the effectiveness of specific policies on increasing access to healthy food or active transportation options using Regression analysis.

COLUMNS BIKERACK: Does your local government have a written requirement or official objective to install bicycle racks at public facilities, such as public parks, government buildings, or transit stations?

DESTINAT_A: Vans or shuttle buses provide transportation to - Community health clinics, health hubs, or medical offices

DESTINAT_B: Vans or shuttle buses provide transportation to - Farmers markets

DESTINAT_C: Vans or shuttle buses provide transportation to - Supermarkets or other full-service grocery stores

DESTINAT_D: Vans or shuttle buses provide transportation to - Parks or recreation facilities

FARMMRKT: Does your community have a farmers market, farm stand, or green/produce cart?

FARMPOLICY_C: Policies related to farmers markets, farm stands, or green/produce carts - Extend waivers of required business permits or retail licensing fees or taxes

FARMPOLICY_D: Policies related to farmers markets, farm stands, or green/produce carts - Provide funds or in-kind services for personnel, signage, or advertising

FARMPOLICY_E: Policies related to farmers markets, farm stands, or green/produce carts - Encourage opening in lower income neighborhoods lacking supermarkets or full-service grocery stores

PUBMULTI: Are there multimodal use requirements near transit stops (e.g. provision of bicycle lanes and sidewalks present within a certain radius of a transit stop)?

REPTAC_A: Designated health/public health representative on pedestrian, bicycle, or active transportation advisory committee

ZONECODE_A: Features in policies for development - Require short to medium pedestrian-scale block sizes

ZONECODE_B: Features in policies for development - Require continuous sidewalk coverage

ZONECODE_C: Features in policies for development - Require minimum sidewalk widths of 5 feet

Community-Based Survey of Supports for Healthy Eating and Active Living (CBS HEAL) is a CDC survey of a nationally representative sample of U.S. municipalities to better understand existing community-level policies and practices that support healthy eating and active living. The survey collects information about policies such as nutrition standards, incentives for healthy food retail, bike/pedestrian-friendly design, and Complete Streets. About 2,000 municipalities respond to the survey. Participating municipalities receive a report that allows them to compare their policies and practices with other municipalities of similar geography, population size, and urban status. The CBS HEAL survey was first administered in 2014 and was administered again in 2021. Data is provided in multiple formats for download including as a SAS file. A methods report and a SAS program for formatting the data are also provided.

The Active People Survey commenced in October 2005 and was commissioned by Sports England. The primary objective of the survey was to measure levels of participation in sport and active recreation and its contribution to improving the health of the nation. Sport and active recreation included walking and cycling for recreation in addition to more traditional formal and informal spots. When measuring sports participation the survey not only recorded the type of activity but also the frequency, intensity and duration of the activity.

The Active People Survey was replaced by the Active Lives Survey in November 2015. Active Lives is a new survey with a different methodology and intended to measure different outcomes from those in the Active People Survey, however there are similarities as it was important that data could be reproduced on some of the key measures.

More general information can be found on the Sport England Active Lives Survey webpage and the Active Lives Online website, including reports and data tables.


Variables no longer available on the Active People Survey
A number of questions were dropped from the Active People Survey for the last six months of its lifespan, due to dual running with the new Active Lives Survey. So, there is no data available for them in the APS10 dataset. The questions dropped covered:

• Reasons for participation;
• Sport provision;
• Change in participation;
• Likelihood to do more sport;
• Gender identity;
• Sexual identity;
• Volunteering by individual sport.

Some other variables are also unavailable, for example D14B (How is your health in general?) and D14ar (Overall how satisfied is your life nowadays?), but may still be referenced in the documentation.

This statistic shows the key aspects of active lifestyle in Mexico in 2016. During a survey it was found that consumers exercise on average four days a week and own more than 40 items of active-wear apparel. One of the top exercising activities in that year in Mexico was running.