Study title

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

The Active People Survey commenced in October 2005 and was commissioned by Sports England. The primary objective of the survey was to measure levels of participation in sport and active recreation and its contribution to improving the health of the nation. Sport and active recreation included walking and cycling for recreation in addition to more traditional formal and informal spots. When measuring sports participation the survey not only recorded the type of activity but also the frequency, intensity and duration of the activity.

The Active People Survey was replaced by the Active Lives Survey in November 2015.  Active Lives is a new survey with a different methodology and intended to measure different outcomes from those in the Active People Survey, however there are similarities as it was important that data could be reproduced on some of the key measures.

More general information can be found on the Sport England Active Lives Survey webpage and the Active Lives Online website, including reports and data tables.



For the third edition (October 2015), the data file was replaced with a new version to reflect changes in the Sport England core measure, the ‘1x30’ indicator. The documentation has also been updated.
Main Topics:

Topics covered in the Active People Survey include:

• Sport and physical activity
• Health behaviour
• General health and wellbeing
• Sports volunteering
• Sport spectating
• Club membership