The amount of time people spend being physically active shows residents of the UK & Ireland are creatures of habit, as post-lockdown fitness resolutions stick fast. Research from FLORA reveals people are sticking to an average of 46 minutes’ exercise per day even now lockdowns have ended, a considerable improvement from the average 33 minutes that were being spent exercising mid-lockdown in 2020.

Now in its third year, the findings from FLORA’s Annual Active Towns Report 2022 reveals a continuing upward trend in attitudes to health and fitness as the average person exercises four times a week, which is once more a week than recorded in 2020, mid-lockdown.

Fitness habits across the UK & Ireland

With many across both nations picking up quirky hobbies during lockdown, data shows unconventional activities are here to stay as over one in ten (14%) of those aged 16-24 continue their obsession with walking football, a sport involving all the usual elements from the traditional sport but with a ban on any running.

Online circuit training has proved to be a hit with as many as one in ten (10%)16-34-year-olds continuing the habit. Once only for hardcore fitness fans, HIIT and CrossFit classes are rising in popularity, with one in 20 (5%) now turning to them as their workout of choice.

Healthier body, healthier mind

With conversations about mental health and wellbeing becoming more prominent, it’s clear that maintaining a positive emotional state is a key motivation for exercising. Over half (54%) say they keep fit to maintain mental wellbeing rather than to look good, and 59% say eating well helps improve their mental health.

Getting started still a struggle

Despite encouraging improvements to activity levels, it’s clear many are struggling to maintain an exercise regime. More than one in ten (16%) people in the UK & Ireland still avoid daily physical activity or any exercise altogether. Almost a third say exercising doesn’t come naturally to them (32%) and over a quarter find they’re more time poor than ever (27%).

At a time when young people are at highest risk of weight gain2, it is concerning that almost a third (30%) of those aged 16 to 24 don’t know what the first step to being more active is. This is 43% higher than the average across the UK & Ireland where just 21% are unsure of how to kick-start their fitness journey.

Dietary habits across the UK & Ireland

It’s not just people’s fitness levels that are evolving, diets across the UK & Ireland are evolving too. In the past year many say they’ve made healthier food choices (47%), eaten more plant-based options (30%), reduced meat intake (32%) and are cooking from scratch more frequently (44%). Latest diet fads have also led more than a quarter (26%) of people to cut out certain food groups such as carbohydrates.

Activity levels across towns in the UK & Ireland

When looking at the average number of minutes people are active per day in different cities and towns across the UK and Ireland, Cork takes the crown as the most active, topping the table at a whopping 58 minutes a day.

Meanwhile, Edinburgh seems to have turned a corner and is now the second most active across both countries (53 minutes per day) – the Scottish capital has one of the largest increases in average active minutes compared to 2021 (+25 minutes).