Adult physical activity (health and wellbeing needs in South Tyneside)

Definitions

• Physically active: Any body movement that expends energy and raises the heart rate. A person is defined as being physically active if they achieve 150 minutes or more of moderate intensity physical activity per week.
• Physically Inactive: A person is defined as being physically inactive if they are engaging in less than 30 minutes physical activity per week
• Sedentary: Time spent in low energy postures e.g. sitting or lying.

Prevalence

• Based on the recent Active Lives Survey published by Sport England, 66% of UK adults (19+) do 150 minutes or more of physical activity. This equates to around 27 million people or six out of every ten adults.
• 11.8% of UK adults are fairly active, achieving between 30 and 149 minutes of physical activity per week. This equates to around 5.6 million adults.
• 22.2% of UK adults are classed as inactive, achieving less than 30 minutes of physical activity per week. This equates to around 11.5 million adults

Socioeconomic Groups

• There are differences in inactivity levels between socioeconomic groups. People who are long term unemployed or have never worked (NS SEC 8) are the most likely to be inactive (38%) while those in managerial administrative and professional occupations (NS SEC 1-2) are least likely to be inactive (17%)

Gender

• There is a difference in inactivity levels between men and women. Nationally 27% (6.1 million) of females are classified as inactive compared to 24% (5.3 million) of males.

Age

• Nationally inactivity levels increase with age. Those aged 16 - 24 years old are least likely to be classed as inactive (15%) with those aged 85 + most likely to be inactive (71%).

Disability

• 51% of people who have 3 or more impairments are classified as being inactive. This is compared to 21% of those without a disability.

Level of need

• The most recent data published by the Active Lives Survey shows that 61.2% of the 19+ population in South Tyneside are classed as active. This is significantly worse than the national prevalence of 66%
• 12.4% of the 19+ population is classified as fairly active. This is above the national average of 11.8%
• Locally 26.4% of the 19+ population is classified as inactive. This is above the national average of 22.2%
• Walking is the most likely way all adults can achieve the recommended levels of physical activity and walking for at least 10 minutes on at least five days a week suggests regular walking. In South Tyneside 53.7% of the 16+ population reported walking for ten minutes or more at least five times per week. This is similar to both the regional average (51.2%) and the national average (50.6%)
• The Sport England local sport profile estimates that physical inactivity costs South Tyneside over £4,000,000 in total or £2,700,000 per 100,000 population. This is above the North East average of just over £2,000,000 per 100,000 and the national average of £1,800,000 per 100,000.
• Condition specific values can be found in the table below:

• Participation in sport, defined as at least once per week, has been relatively stable since 2005 / 06. Latest figures show 31.2% of the 16+ population are currently engaging in sport at least once per week.