Savanta ComRes interviewed 1,004 Welsh adults (16+) online from the 13th August to 16th August 2021. Data were weighted to be demographically representative of Welsh adults by gender, age, region, social grade, and the estimated households with children under 16. Savanta ComRes is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules.
Participation
Amount of exercise
- Adults who have a longstanding physical condition or illness were more likely to not have exercised at all in the past week (25%) than those with a mental health condition or illness (15%), or adults without any longstanding health conditions (14%)
- Adults who reported a longstanding mental health condition or illness were more likely to exercise most (5+) days in a week than those adults without longstanding health conditions (32% of those with a mental illness compared to 29% of those with no longstanding conditions)
- Those with a longstanding condition or illness were more likely than those without to be doing less exercise now, when compared with the amount they did before the pandemic (34% of those with a longstanding condition, compared with 23% of those without)
Type of exercise
Walking for leisure was the only physical activity where adults without a longstanding condition or illness were notable more likely to participate than adults with a longstanding condition or illness (62% of adults without a longstanding condition compared to 54% of those with).
Adults with a mental health condition or illness were more likely than those without any longstanding health conditions to:
- Walk for travel (38% to 26%)
- Run or jog (20% to 16%)
- Cycle (20% to 15%)
- Exercise at home (26% to 21%)
Who was the exercise with?
- Adults with a physical condition or illness were less likely than those with a mental illness, or those without a longstanding health condition, to walk for leisure with someone else (39% of those with a physical condition compared to 55% of those with a mental condition, and 54% of those with no longstanding conditions.
- Adults with any longstanding condition or illness were less likely than those without to cycle for leisure with someone else (31% of adults with a longstanding condition compared with 45% of those without)
- Adults with any longstanding condition or illness were more likely than those without to run or jog with someone else (35% of adults with a longstanding condition compared to 22% of those without)
- Volunteering
- Adults with longstanding mental illnesses were more likely to have volunteered in the last 12 months (40%), than those with a longstanding physical condition (26%), or without a longstanding health condition (23%).
- Adults with longstanding mental illnesses were also the most likely to volunteer in the next 12 months to:
- support the COVID-19 response (42%, compared to 36% of those with a physical condition, and 35% of those without a longstanding health condition)
- support sport (40%, compared to 23% of those with a physical condition, and 29% of those without a longstanding health condition)
- support another cause (48%, compared to 31% of those with a physical condition, and 34% of those without a longstanding health condition)
Adults without any longstanding health conditions were the most likely to have no intention to volunteer in the next 12 months (47%, compared to 31% of those with a physical condition, and 38% of those with a mental health condition)
Confidence and Skills
Facilities
There was a general trend that adults with longstanding mental health conditions had the most confidence in returning to sporting facilities, followed by those without any longstanding conditions, with those with longstanding physical conditions the least confident, for example:
- Gyms: 34% of those with a mental health condition, 31% of those without a longstanding health condition, and 22% of those with a physical condition, felt confident returning
- Swimming pools: 44% of those with a mental health condition, 38% of those without a longstanding health condition, and 31% of those with a physical condition, felt confident returning
- Indoor courts: 23% of those with a mental health condition, 20% of those without a longstanding health condition, and 17% of those with a physical condition, felt confident returning
However, this trend doesn’t hold when looking at those adults who have visited the facilities
- Indoor Gyms: 73% (22) of those with a mental health condition, 86% (82) of those without a longstanding health condition, and 88% (20) of those with a physical condition, felt comfortable using the facility
- Indoor swimming pools: 76% (27) of those with a mental health condition, 72% (75) of those without a longstanding health condition, and 92% (13) of those with a physical condition, felt comfortable using the facility
Adults with a longstanding physical condition were less likely to feel more confident about taking part in sport as a result of the ongoing vaccination regime (34%) than those with a longstanding mental health condition and those without a longstanding health condition (both 48%)
Motivation and Values
Values
- Adults with any longstanding condition or illness are less likely to feel it is important to exercise regularly (60%) than those without (70%)
- Having longstanding health condition was not correlated with how likely a person was to feel guilty for not exercising (53%), however adults with a longstanding mental health condition are more likely to feel guilty for not exercising more (60%, compared to 50% of those without a longstanding health condition, and 51% of those with a longstanding physical condition).
Motivation
- Adults without longstanding condition were most likely to say their main reason for exercising is to be physically healthy (30%), and this was the same for those physical health conditions (35%)
- Adults with a mental illness were most likely to say their main reason for exercising is to get out the house (24%)
- When looking at the top 5 reasons, those without longstanding health conditions are still most likely to exercise in order to be physically healthy (75%), but the most important reasons for those with a mental health condition becomes to feel good (75%), and for those with physical health conditions, to get out the house (68%).
Access (Opportunity and Resources)
- Adults with a longstanding condition or illness are less likely to feel able to be physically active (52%, compared to 79% of adults without a longstanding health condition).
- Adults with a longstanding condition or illness are less likely to feel like they have the opportunity to be physically active (55%, compared to 76% of adults without a longstanding health condition).
Impact of COVID-19
- Having longstanding health condition was not correlated with how likely a person was to have found a new way to be active since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic (49%)
- Adults with a longstanding health condition are:
- Less likely to feel they now have more time to be physically active (52% to 56% of those without a longstanding health condition)
- More likely to miss the types of physical activity they could do before COVID-19 (46% compared to 39% of those without a longstanding health condition)
Awareness
- Adults with a long-term health condition were more likely to be aware of Sport Wales’ Back in the Game campaign (16%, compared to 12% of those without a longstanding health condition)
The Experience
- Adults with a longstanding condition or illness are less likely to find exercise enjoyable and satisfying (52% compared to 64% of those without a longstanding health condition)
- Adults with a longstanding condition or illness are more likely to agree they don’t find exercising on their own enjoyable (42%, compared to 37% of those without a longstanding health condition).
