About 1.3 million adults have become inactive since the height of Covid, with at least 12 million taking less than an average of 30 minutes’ exercise a week, as activity levels only just begin to recover towards pre-pandemic rates.

The Active Lives Adult Survey, which is the largest study of the matter in England and has 175,000 respondents, tracked adults’ activity for a year from November 2020, with the data taking into account the impact lockdowns had on activity levels.

Just over 60% of adults (28 million) were active, achieving more than 150 minutes of activity a week, while 27%, or 12.4 million adults, were inactive, with less than 30 minutes of activity a week. A further 11.5%, or 5.2 million adults, were fairly active but did not reach an average of 150 minutes a week.

The data also showed that while activity levels dropped during periods of lockdown restriction, since coronavirus became less prevalent and restrictions were eased activity levels had begun to stabilise and were now recovering. In mid-March 2021, 61% of the population were active, compared with 58% 12 months earlier.

Activity levels are still lower than beforehand, as there are 600,000 (1.9%) fewer active adults and 1.3 million (2.6%) more inactive adults than before lockdown restrictions.

However, demographic variables affected the activity levels of adults across England – 63% of men were active during this period, compared with 60% of women. Furthermore, within different socio-economic groups, those who had been unemployed long-term or had never worked were the least likely to be active, at 52%.

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The data also showed that minority ethnic groups, disabled people and those with long-term health conditions were still less likely to be active, with the pandemic exacerbating these inequalities.

Regarding the types of activities that had showed growth before the pandemic, only walking for leisure has continued to rise. By contrast, active travel – walking or cycling to a specific place – has seen a large drop. Cycling for leisure and sport, as well as running, also fell after restrictions were eased in March 2021, as did swimming.

Nigel Huddleston, a minister for sports, said he was encouraged by the survey results but there was more to be done to tackle inactivity. “I urge everyone to follow the medical advice and do 60 minutes of exercise a day for children and 150 minutes of exercise per week for adults,” he said.

Tim Hollingsworth, the chief executive of Sport England, said the fact that activity levels were beginning to recover was “testament to the dedication of all of those who worked so hard to bring activities back safely when restrictions started to be eased”.

He added: “Though this report clearly sets out the many challenges that lie ahead in supporting people to play more sport and lead more active lives, the key investments and resources we were able to provide during the harshest of restrictions also played an important role in helping sports get back on their feet.

“That the data tells us that this initial recovery is not universal is not a surprise and that is exactly why our Uniting the Movement strategy focuses resources and funding disproportionally towards the people and places that need the most support to be active.”