Latest figures from a healthcare provider in the UK shows that people over the age of 65 are the UKs most frequent gym users with the most regular gym users aged 72 with an average of eight visits per month.
While the over 65s have historically been considered the least active age group, but Nuffield Health figures reveal a clear trend that once this group is engaged with exercise, the more frequently they tend to use the gym. The figures provide a snapshot of the lifestyles of older people in the UK, and the increasing desire to remain active later into life, notes Nuffield Health.
“The sheer number of older gym users in our gyms speaks volumes about the desire of those in the UK to remain fit and healthy”, said Nuffield Health’s Deputy Medical Director of Wellbeing, Dr Aldric Ratajczak. “The fact that our older members are using the facilities more often than any other is hugely encouraging. We know that regular exercise reduces the risk of memory decline, muscle loss and heart disease. In fact exercise is the super pill we’ve been looking for to live happier and healthier through our later decades.
According to figures:
- The age of the most frequent gym users across the UK is 72 years old, at eight visits per month
- Those aged 70-79 are the decade most frequently using the gyms at 7.5 days a month on average.
- Over 65’s are the most frequent users across all UK clubs.
- The average age of the most frequent gym users in Scotland rises to 75 years old at just over eight visits per month;
- In London the figure drops to 65 year old, at eight visits per month on average
- 74 year-olds in Leicester are the UK’s most frequent gym users, averaging 14 visits per month;
- Leicester also has the most active over 65s visiting 10 times a month on average, twice as frequently as those in London (6 visits per month);
- Edinburgh, St Albans, Sheffield and Glasgow have the highest numbers of octogenarians gym members in the UK