New Research Highlights Lack of Exercise Facilities In Deprived Areas in England
A recently published paper in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine highlights research undertaken by Dr Melvyn Hillsdon and others from Bristol University into whether the more deprived areas of England suffer from a lack of exercise facilities.
It is known in England that the lower socio-economic groups have lower exercise participation levels and the research wanted to study whether this was in part due to a lack of facilities in deprived neighbourhoods in England. Using The Leisure Database Company’s records of all sports and fitness facilities throughout England, the research calculated the density of physical activity centres per 1,000 population.
The results clearly showed that the availability of exercise facilities declines with area of deprivation making it harder for lower socio-economic populations to have access to sports and fitness facilities. In Kent, for example, the most deprived areas share just 6 sports and fitness facilities. To view the abstract of Dr Melvyn Hillsdon’s paper click here.
