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Coronavirus

Research into how the coronavirus crisis affected people's activity levels and attitudes towards exercise.

At a glance

Coronavirus (Covid-19) had a profound effect on the world, with social distancing and restrictions on movement resulting in a complete overhaul of the way many people get active.

With the implementation of guidance in England limiting people to one outdoor activity a day and only with members of their own household, the majority of sports and exercise activities became impossible overnight.

As a result, we wanted to know what impact the restrictions were having on the nation's physical activity levels and habits - as well as people's attitudes towards getting active.

People exercise on Southsea seafront, running and riding past a sign reminding people to social distance.

Understanding the issue

In order to be better equipped to achieve one of our two main objectives during the coronavirus crisis, keeping the nation active, we needed to know how people's activity levels were affected by the restrictions on movement, as well as people's attitudes to physical activity in general.

This research helped us to focus our attentions on specific demographics and activities, via our Join the Movement campaign.

It also helped us provide advice to the sector through our Return to Play work once restrictions started to be lifted.

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