The latest Active Lives data released by Sport England, show adults in Suffolk to be more active than the national average.

The survey has reported that 63.1% of adults across the country are meeting the physical activity guidelines set by the Chief Medical Officer, which is a positive 1.7% increase on the year before as more people begin to feel more comfortable exercising again after the effects of the global pandemic have begun to lessen.

However, for Suffolk 64.5% of adults are now classified as active, which is an impressive 4.7% increase compared to last year's figures. Plus, in even better news – Ipswich now reports that 63.6% of adults in their borough are classified as active, which is an incredible 14.2% increase on last year!

Gareth Davies, Director at Active Suffolk said: "Active Suffolk is delighted to see the hugely positive upturn in physical activity across the county.

"We must recognise and celebrate the proactive response of our residents and communities' commitment to increasing their physical activity levels. These figures are testament to the hard work of all the organisations in the physical activity ecosystem, for their continued strong advocacy for the importance of physical activity to both physical and mental health.

"Active Suffolk is excited to support Suffolk County Council and the County's Districts and Boroughs continued commitment to reducing inactivity and reducing barriers to participation, supporting our communities on this positive journey"

Through Sport England Together Fund funding, Active Suffolk have been delighted to be able to facilitate and support local sports and community groups to enable their clients to get involved in lots of different physical activities. Whether this be activities like female beginner's running courses across Ipswich, community dance classes for those with dementia in Halesworth or all-day physical activity sessions for those with additional needs in Bury St. Edmunds, Active Suffolk are proud to have been able to help all of these activities and more come to life.

Councillor John Cook, Ipswich Borough Council Portfolio Holder for Communities and Sport, said: "We are so pleased that Active Lives figures for Ipswich show that the number of active adults in the town is increasing.

Ipswich has many great public facilities for all to enjoy - sports centres with gyms, sports and fitness classes, two swimming pools, award-winning parks, health walks and other community programmes, Breathe well classes for the older generation plus school holiday programmes for young people. We also have a health referral programme, partner with community groups to provide physical activities, and have a dedicated programme of fitness classes for people with long-term medical conditions."

As the effects of the global Covid-19 pandemic continue to lessen, Active Suffolk are aware that activity levels across the county could begin to change as we transition into the summer months and the types of activities that are available could change. However, we are hopeful that in being able to achieve such brilliant activity levels currently, we will be able to see a replication and even improvement on these figures when we come to release the next Active Lives survey results.

Cllr Andrew Reid, Cabinet Member for Public Health and Public Protection, said: "We are delighted to see that the number of Active adults in Suffolk has risen above pre-pandemic levels, and above the national average for England. This is fantastic news and shows the extraordinary efforts of our partners and Suffolk residents in breaking down the barriers to physical activity.

"There is more we can all do to build physical activity into our daily lives, whether that's walking or cycling instead of driving on our morning commute, using the stairs instead of the lift, or taking part in sports.

"We look forward to working with Active Suffolk and other partners, to help and support our communities to become and remain active into the future."

To find out more information about the latest insight published by Sport England, visit www.activesuffolk.org/active-lives-survey