Official Statistics

Physical activity data tool: statistical commentary, March 2021

Published 2 March 2021

Applies to England

New in this update

New children and young people physical activity data for 2019 to 2020 has been added to the Physical Activity tool on the Fingertips platform. The percentage of physically active children and young people indicator has been updated and is available at a regional level for England and for various inequality groups.

Main findings

In 2019 to 2020, 44.9% of children and young people in England met the Chief Medical Officers’ (CMOs) guidelines of taking part in sport and physical activity for an average of 60 minutes or more every day.

In 2019 to 2020, a statistically significant decrease in physical activity was reported compared with 2018 to 2019 (46.8%), but physical activity levels remain higher than 2017 to 2018 (43.3%).

The percentage of children that reported being physically active in 2019 to 2020 ranged from 41.9% in London to 49.4% in the South West.

All regions, except the North East, reported a decrease in physical activity levels compared with 2018 to 2019, although only the East Midlands reported a statistically significant decrease.

Boys (47.1%) continue to be more likely to report achieving recommended physical activity levels than girls (42.7%), although the gap narrowed by 3.2 percentage points (p.p.) in 2019 to 2020, with boys reporting a more notable decrease from 2018 to 2019 (50.6%).

Significant differences in activity levels remained among ethnic groups, with those that identified as White British still most likely to be physically active (47.2%), and those that identified as Black (35.5%) or Other (38.5%) least likely to be active.

In 2019 to 2020, Black or Mixed ethnic groups reported a significant decrease in the percentage of physically active children compared with 2018 to 2019, while the activity levels in other ethnic groups remained similar.

The proportion of children achieving the recommended levels of physical activity differed across school year groups, with those in year 3 to 6 less likely to be active (41.4%) than those in year 1 to 2 (45.7%) and year 7 to 11 (47.6%).

Compared with 2018 to 2019, the overall decrease in the percentage of children meeting the CMOs’ recommendations was driven by those in year 1 to 2 and year 3 to 6 while activity for those in year 7 to 11 has increased.

Notes on data

This release presents data from Sport England’s Active Lives Children and Young People Survey for the academic year 2019 to 2020. National and regional level estimates are available for 2019 to 2020. Sport England has not published local authority level estimates due to the impact of COVID-19 on data collection.

Due to school closures, Sport England was unable to collect any data from late March until mid-May, when they switched survey mode to at home completion for the summer term. To reduce the burden on schools, and to help ensure a national sample was achieved, a reduced number of surveys were issued during the summer term. This resulted in many local authorities not having a sufficient spread of responses into the summer term to make results comparable with the previous survey years.

For more details on the impact of these disruptions and further insight into children’s physical activity during the summer term, please see Sport England’s Active Lives Children and Young People Survey, Academic year 2019 to 2020 report and the accompanying Active Lives Children and Young People Survey Coronavirus (COVID-19) Report.

Background and further information

This statistical commentary summarises a new data point for the children and young people physical activity indicator available in the Physical Activity tool. The data can be used to monitor the CMOs’ recommendation that children and young people (5 to 18 years) are physically active for an average of at least 60 minutes per day across the week. This data is also a Key Performance Indicator for the government’s sports strategy: ‘Sporting Future: a new strategy for an active nation’.

Physical activity also forms a key component of the government’s plan for action to significantly reduce childhood obesity by supporting healthier choices, as outlined in ‘Childhood obesity: a plan for action’. One of the main aspects of the plan is to reduce childhood obesity by encouraging primary school children to eat more healthily and stay active.

Physical Activity tool

The Physical Activity tool brings together data on physical activity at a local level for England. It includes physical activity data, including walking and cycling, as well as information on related risk factors and conditions such as obesity and diabetes. The aim of the tool is to help local areas monitor the health of their local population, support needs assessment, local planning and commissioning of infrastructure and services that encourage and support people to be physically active.

Responsible statistician, product lead: Craig Timpson and Eva Mitchell

For queries relating to this document, please contact: ProfileFeedback@phe.gov.uk