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Embarrassment & Intimidation Stopping People from Exercising

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Embarrassment & Intimidation Stopping People from Exercising

Over half of people who aren’t moving enough say their lack of exercise is due to low motivation. A lack of energy was also given as a reason by 49% of people, while 40% say that gyms are too intimidating.

The Survey

That’s according to new data from Nuffield Health’s Healthier Nation Index, a survey of 8,000 people that aims to remove barriers to exercise and improve people’s health. It found 33% of people have not dedicated any time to physical activity in the last 12 months, with almost 3 in 4 still not reaching the NHS’s recommended 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week.

The Results

The most likely to face barriers to movement are young people, those with chronic conditions, and women. Among those aged 16-24, not knowing how to get started was the main reason for not exercising enough. Concerningly, the second biggest barrier for this age group was embarrassment, with half saying they feel embarrassed when exercising.

For people with chronic conditions, gyms themselves were the biggest problem. Not liking working out in a gym was given as a reason 51% of people in this category didn’t exercise, while 47% said gyms were intimidating.

What Does This Mean For Us?

As we face January, and the onslaught of health and wellbeing resets that come with a new year, it’s clear that we need better support and inclusion in fitness. That includes helping beginners learn to train, creating safer spaces so everyone feels comfortable moving, and widening our understanding of exercise away from the gym.

We also need strategies bigger than just us. In Nuffield Health’s new whitepaper, Unlocking the ‘Miracle Cure’, there are suggestions for how the government, NHS leaders, and policymakers can better use movement to improve health outcomes. It includes recommendations on how to change perceptions of physical activity and make exercise a clinical intervention.

‘For some, the framing of physical activity or exercise itself acted as a barrier to moving more. Physical activity […] encompasses all movement; however, the Index has found that there are certain anxieties associated with physical activity,’ write the authors of the whitepaper.

‘This is particularly the case for people living with long-term conditions. Their anxiety over exercise often stem from fear – fear of aggravating symptoms such as pain, fatigue, or breathlessness; fear of becoming a burden by falling or becoming stuck; and even fear of catastrophic events like heart attacks or stroke.’

In the shorter term, Nuffield Health’s January campaign, “Back To Basics”, is encouraging people to move a little every day – without overcomplicating their movement.

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