Temporal trends in adults’ sports participation patterns in England between 1997 and 2006: the Health Survey for England
Open accessAbstract
Objective: To examine temporal trends in participation in sport and exercise activities in England between 1997 and 2006 while taking into account wider societal changes. Design: A series of annual cross-sectional surveys. Setting and participants: Nationally representative samples of men (n = 27 217) and women (n = 33 721) aged ⩾16 years. Main outcome measures: Any (more than once every 4 weeks) and regular (more than once a week) participation in overall sport and exercise and a number of sport and exercise groupings (eg cycling, swimming, gym and fitness club-based activities (G/FC), racquet sports). Time point (1997/98, 2003/04, 2006) was the main dependent variable. Results: Age-standardised overall regular participation changed from 40.8% in 1997/98 to 41.2% in 2006 for men (multivariable-adjusted participation OR = 1.11 in 2006, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.19, p<0.001) and from 31.2% to 33.9% for women (1.21, 1.13 to 1.29, p<0.001). Regular G/FC increased from 17.0% to 19.2% for men (1.19, 1.09 to 1.30) and from 15.9% to 18.7% for women (1.23, 1.14 to 1.33) and regular running increased from 2.4% to 4.0% for women only (1.84, 1.56 to 2.18). Overall increases were apparent only in older adults (⩾45 years) (1.25, 1.16 to 1.35, p<0.001). Young men (16–29 years) had reduced ORs for cycling (0.72, 0.58 to 0.88, p = 0.008), dancing (0.60, 0.45 to 0.82, p = 0.001), running (0.78, 0.64 to 0.94, p<0.001) and racquet sports (0.60, 0.42 to 0.86, p = 0.003). In men, increases were pronounced only among men from non-manual social classes, higher income households and white ethnic backgrounds. Conclusions: Sports and exercise participation in England has changed between 1997 and 2006 as the result of increases among middle-aged and older adults and decreases among young men. There are no signs that the participation gap between less and more advantaged population groups is narrowing.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Vigorous structured exercise-based sessions are not feasible or appealing to the majority of middle-aged adults, as indicated by very low participation rates.
“Although vigorous-intensity physical activity is time-efficient, vigorous structured exercise-based sessions (for example, gym-based, sports, high-intensity interval training) are not feasible or appealing to the majority of middle-aged adults, as indicated by the very low participation rates8,9,17.”
From Association of wearable device-measured vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity with mortality (2022) · cites this paper as [9]
Many common activities of daily living are likely to elicit relative vigorous-intensity effort in physically inactive adults with poor fitness who do not habitually exercise.
“Many common activities of daily living are likely to elicit relative vigorous-intensity effort in physically inactive adults with poor fitness who do not habitually exercise21, which is the majority demographic in many countries8,9,22,23.”
From Association of wearable device-measured vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity with mortality (2022) · cites this paper as [9]
Most adults aged 40 and over do not do vigorous exercise or sports.
“Despite the large health potential of vigorous-intensity physical activity, most adults aged 40 and over do not do vigorous exercise or sports8,9,17.”
From Association of wearable device-measured vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity with mortality (2022) · cites this paper as [9]
Only one or two in five UK middle-aged adults engage in structured vigorous exercise at least once a month, suggesting numerous participation barriers.
“Only one or two in five UK middle-aged adults engage in structured vigorous exercise at least once a month8,9,17, suggesting numerous participation barriers.”
From Association of wearable device-measured vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity with mortality (2022) · cites this paper as [9]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Obesity in Britain: gluttony or sloth?
Prentice, A. M., & Jebb, S. A. (1995) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.311.7002.437 · Cited by 1,163 · see citing works
Adolescent Physical Activity and Health: A Systematic Review
Hallal, P. C., Victora, C. G., Azevedo, M. R., & Wells, J. C. K. (2006) · Sports Medicine · doi:10.2165/00007256-200636120-00003 · Cited by 986 · see citing works
Physical Exercise and Psychological Well-Being: A Population Study in Finland
Hassmén, P., Koivula, N., & Uutela, A. K. (2000) · Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1006/pmed.1999.0597 · Cited by 736 · see citing works
Physical Activity Assessments for Health-Related Research
Welk, G. J. (2002) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 688 · see citing works
Comparison of cardioprotective benefits of vigorous versus moderate intensity aerobic exercise
Swain, D. P., & Franklin, B. A. (2006) · The American Journal of Cardiology · doi:10.1016/j.amjcard.2005.07.130 · Cited by 660 · see citing works
Physical activity and cancer risk: dose-response and cancer, all sites and site-specific
Thune, I., & Furberg, A. (2001) · Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise · doi:10.1097/00005768-200106001-00025 · Cited by 466 · see citing works
Sports participation and emotional wellbeing in adolescents
Steptoe, A. S., & Butler, N. (1996) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(96)91616-5 · Cited by 429 · see citing works
Physical activity and cardiovascular disease: evidence for a dose response
KOHL, H. W. (2001) · Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise · doi:10.1097/00005768-200106001-00017 · Cited by 391 · see citing works
Lynch, J. (1996) · Archives of Internal Medicine · doi:10.1001/archinte.1996.00440110073010 · Cited by 363 · see citing works
Hides, J. A., Stanton, W. R., Freke, M., et al. (2007) · British Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1136/bjsm.2007.044024 · Cited by 215 · see citing works
Temporal trends in physical activity in England: The Health Survey for England 1991 to 2004
Stamatakis, E. A., Ekelund, U., & Wareham, N. J. (2007) · Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2006.12.014 · Cited by 176 · see citing works
Self-citationFagan, V., & Delahunt, E. (2008) · British Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1136/bjsm.2008.046623 · Cited by 168 · see citing works
Diagnostic accuracy of power Doppler ultrasound in patients with chronic tennis elbow
du Toit, C., Stieler, M. A., Saunders, R., Bisset, L., & Vicenzino, B. (2008) · British Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1136/bjsm.2007.043901 · Cited by 140 · see citing works
Why does exercise terminate at the maximal lactate steady state intensity?
Baron, B., Noakes, T. D., Dekerle, J., Moullan, F., Robin, S., Matran, R., & Pelayo, P. (2007) · British Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1136/bjsm.2007.040444 · Cited by 133 · see citing works
The diagnosis of longstanding groin pain: a prospective clinical cohort study
Bradshaw, C., Bundy, M., & Falvey, É. C. (2008) · British Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1136/bjsm.2007.039685 · Cited by 109 · see citing works
Physical activity and obesity prevention
Wareham, N. J. (2007) · Obesity Reviews · doi:10.1111/j.1467-789x.2007.00328.x · Cited by 107 · see citing works
Turrell, G., Patterson, C. M., Oldenburg, B. F., et al. (2003) · Public Health Nutrition · doi:10.1079/phn2002415 · Cited by 96 · see citing works
High-intensity ultraendurance promotes early release of muscle injury markers
Bessa, A., Nissenbaum, M. M., Monteiro, A. N., et al. (2008) · British Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1136/bjsm.2007.043786 · Cited by 90 · see citing works
The health of minority ethnic groups '99
Erens, B., Primatesta, P., & Prior, G. (2001) · Stationery Office eBooks · Cited by 87 · see citing works
Domestic Physical Activity in Relationship to Multiple CVD Risk Factors
Stamatakis, E., Hillsdon, M. M., & Primatesta, P. (2007) · American Journal of Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2006.12.020 · Cited by 84 · see citing works
Self-citationOgai, R., Yamane, M., Matsumoto, T., & Kosaka, M. (2008) · British Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1136/bjsm.2007.044396 · Cited by 74 · see citing works
Edwards, A. M., Wells, C., & Butterly, R. J. (2008) · British Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1136/bjsm.2007.045377 · Cited by 69 · see citing works
Transversus abdominis and core stability: has the pendulum swung?
Allison, G. T., & Morris, S. L. (2008) · British Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1136/bjsm.2008.048637 · Cited by 62 · see citing works
Shimada, H., Suzuki, T., Kimura, Y., Hirata, T., Sugiura, M., Endo, Y., Yasuhara, K., Shimada, K., Kikuchi, K., Oda, K., et al. (2008) · British Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1136/bjsm.2007.039453 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
Effect of commercial airline travel on oxygen saturation in athletes
Geertsema, C., Williams, A. B., Dzendrowskyj, P., et al. (2007) · British Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1136/bjsm.2007.042960 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
Drinking policies and exercise-associated hyponatraemia: is anyone still promoting overdrinking?
Beltrami, F. G., Hew‐Butler, T., & Noakes, T. D. (2008) · British Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1136/bjsm.2008.047944 · Cited by 50 · see citing works
The Health Survey for England 2007.
Craig, R., & Shelton, N. J. (2008) · Cited by 48 · see citing works
MRI evaluation of body composition changes in wrestlers undergoing rapid weight loss
Kukidome, T., Shirai, K., Kubo, J., et al. (2008) · British Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1136/bjsm.2007.044081 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Jumping on bandwagons: taking the right clinical message from research
Cook, J. L. (2008) · British Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1136/bjsm.2008.048629 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
Severe surfing-related ocular injuries: the Stanford Northern Californian experience
Zoumalan, C. I., Blumenkranz, M. S., McCulley, T. J., et al. (2008) · British Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1136/bjsm.2007.041657 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine (2008) · British Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1136/bjsm.2007.043356 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
Four weeks’ corticosteroid inhalation does not augment maximal power output in endurance athletes
Kuipers, H., Hullenaar, G. A. C. V., Pluim, B. M., Overbeek, S., de Hon, O. M., van Breda, E., & van Loon, L. J. C. (2008) · British Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1136/bjsm.2007.042572 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Borrione, P., Rizzo, M., Spaccamiglio, A., et al. (2008) · British Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1136/bjsm.2007.045021 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Gratze, G., Mayer, H., Luft, F. C., & Skrabal, F. (2008) · British Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1136/bjsm.2007.044271 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Preventing ACL injuries, turning research into practice and avoiding media ambush
Khan, K. M. (2008) · British Journal of Sports Medicine · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Physical activity throughout life reduces the atherosclerotic wall process in the carotid artery
Sandrock, M., Schulze, C., Schmitz, D., Hh, D., & Schmidt‐Trucksäss, A. (2008) · British Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1136/bjsm.2007.040014 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Zhang, Y., Lin, Z., Hu, Y., et al. (2007) · British Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1136/bjsm.2007.038620 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Khan, K. M. (2008) · British Journal of Sports Medicine · Cited by 26 · see citing works
RANDOLPH, C. C. (2008) · British Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1136/bjsm.2007.039701 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Are “exercise pills” the answer to the growing problem of physical inactivity?
Warden, S. J., & Fuchs, R. K. (2008) · British Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1136/bjsm.2008.053512 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Superior performance in WAIS-R block design among top-level rugby players
Kasahara, S., Mashiko, H., & Niwa, S. (2008) · British Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1136/bjsm.2007.043273 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
The practice of primary care sports medicine in the USA
Diehl, J. J., Pirozzolo, J., & Best, T. M. (2008) · British Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1136/bjsm.2007.044487 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Nichols, A. W. (2007) · British Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1136/bjsm.2007.037861 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Ferrari, M., Bonella, F., Benini, L., Ferrari, P., Iorio, F. D., Testi, R., & Cascio, V. L. (2007) · British Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1136/bjsm.2006.034983 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
What to tell the media—or not: consensus guidelines for sports physicians
Gregory, P. L., Seah, R., & Pollock, N. (2008) · British Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1136/bjsm.2008.048421 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Blatteau, J.-E., Pény, C., Pontier, J.-M., et al. (2007) · British Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1136/bjsm.2007.042226 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Exercise decreases the risk of development of diabetes mellitus, So...
Nugent, C. A. (1996) · PubMed · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Exercise Decreases the Risk of Development of Diabetes Mellitus
Nugent, C. A. (1996) · Archives of Internal Medicine · doi:10.1001/archinte.1996.00440110012003 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 8
- Br J Sports Med 2008;42:901-908. doi:10.1136/bjsm.2008.048082 901 on November 30, 2023 by guest. Protected by copyright. http://bjsm.bmj.com/ Br J Sports Med: first published as 10.1136/bjsm.2008.048082 on 25 July 2008. Downloaded from on November 30, 2023 by guest. Protected by copyright. http://bjsm.bmj.com/ Br J Sports Med: first published as 10.1136/bjsm.2008.048082 on 25 July 2008. Downloaded from on November 30, 2023 by guest. Protected by copyright. http://bjsm.bmj.com/ Br J Sports Med: first published as 10.1136/bjsm.2008.048082 on 25 July 2008. Downloaded from on November 30, 2023 by guest. Protected by copyright. http://bjsm.bmj.com/ Br J Sports Med: first published as 10.1136/bjsm.2008.048082 on 25 July 2008. Downloaded from REFERENCES · DOI
- should be Khan KM. Preventing ACL injuries, turning research into practice and avoiding media ambush. Br J Sports Med 2008;42:783-4.
- should be Sandrock M, Schulze C, Schmitz D, et al. Physical activity through- out life reduces the atherosclerotic wall process in the carotid artery. Br J Sports Med 2008;42:839-44.
- Banffi G, Krajewska M, Melegati G, et al. Effects of whole-body cryotherapy on hae- matological values in athletes. Br J Sports Med 2008;42:558. should be Banffi G, Krajewska M, Melegati G, et al. Effects of whole-body cryotherapy on haematological values in athletes. Br J Sports Med 2008;42:858.
- Schwellnus M. SportsMedUpdate. Br J Sports Med 2008;42:559-60. should be Schwellnus M. SportsMedUpdate. Br J Sports Med 2008;42:859-60.
- be Gratze G, Mayer H, Luft FC, et al. Determinants of fast marathon perfor- mance: low basal sympathetic drive, enhanced postcompetition vasodilation and preserved cardiac performance after compe- tition. Br J Sports Med 2008;42:882-8.
- Stamatakis E, Chaudhury M. Temporal trends in adults' sports participation pat- terns in England between 1997 and 2006: the Health Survey for England. Br J Sports Med 2008;42:601-8. should be Stamatakis E, Chaudhury M. Temporal trends in adults' sports participation patterns in England between 1997 and 2006: the Health Survey for England. Br J Sports Med 2008;42: 901-8.
- Schwellnus M. SportsMedUpdate. Br J Sports Med 2008;42:637-8. should be Schwellnus M. SportsMedUpdate. Br J Sports Med 2008;42:937-8.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Global physical activity levels: surveillance progress, pitfalls, and prospects
Hallal, P. C., Andersen, L. B., Bull, F. C., Guthold, R., Haskell, W., & Ekelund, U. (2012) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(12)60646-1 · Cited by 5,711 · see citing works
Screen-Based Entertainment Time, All-Cause Mortality, and Cardiovascular Events
Stamatakis, E., Hamer, M., & Dunstan, D. W. (2011) · Journal of the American College of Cardiology · doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2010.05.065 · Cited by 387 · see citing works
Self-citationStamatakis, E., Ahmadi, M. N., Gill, J. M. R., Thøgersen-Ntoumani, C., Gibala, M. J., Doherty, A., & Hamer, M. (2022) · Nature Medicine · doi:10.1038/s41591-022-02100-x · Cited by 336 · see citing works
Self-citationLamoureux, N. R., Fitzgerald, J. S., Norton, K. I., Sabato, T., Tremblay, M. S., & Tomkinson, G. R. (2019) · Sports Medicine · doi:10.1007/s40279-018-1017-y · Cited by 111 · see citing works
- Authors
- Stamatakis, E., & Chaudhury, M.
- Affiliations
- University College London (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Stamatakis, E
- ORCID
- Stamatakis, E
- Venue
- British Journal of Sports Medicine
- Publisher
- BMJ
- Published
- 2008-07-25
- Volume
- 42
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- 901-908
- ISSN
- 0306-3674 (ISSN-L)
- 1473-0480
- OpenAlex
- W2008519563
- Cited by
- 194
- References
- 48
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 20 · 2014: 13 · 2013: 14 · 2012: 13
- FWCI
- 5.64
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- British Journal of Sports Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute for Health and Care Research
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Physical Activity and Health
- Social Sciences › Life-span and Life-course Studies › Sports and Physical Education Studies
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Physical Education and Sports Studies
- Keywords
- sports participation, physical activity trends, exercise participation, temporal trends, adults, sex differences, age differences, cycling, swimming, running, older adults, young men, Health Survey for England, England, social change, health promotion policy, health disparities, ethnicity, socioeconomic status
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Age Factors, Aged, Cross-Sectional Studies, England, Female, Health Surveys, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Regression Analysis, Sex Factors, Socioeconomic Factors, Sports, Health Behavior, Exercise, Young Adult
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
