Parliamentary launch for new EMD UK and Alliance report highlighting immense social value of group exercise

The Sport and Recreation Alliance were delighted to facilitate a Parliamentary launch for a new research report ‘The Social Value of Group Exercise’, commissioned by EMD UK, the national governing body for group exercise.

The research, compiled by the Alliance’s in-house research team, demonstrates the enormous impact of group exercise – some of the key findings include:

• Group exercise generates £5.3 billion in social value annually.
• 6 million adults participate in group exercise, alongside 500,000 children and young people.
• It saves 6 million GP appointments every year.
• £511 million is saved by the NHS every year as a result of participation in group exercise, and it prevents 26,000 cases of Type 2 diabetes.
• 60,000 people are employed as instructors of group exercise.

Group exercise encompasses a broad range of activities, including Zumba, yoga, pilates, seated exercise classes, and many more. Due to this range of activities, its collective value has been difficult to calculate, which is why this report is so important.

Rachel Taylor MP, Chair of the APPG for Sport and Physical Activity kindly sponsored the event, and introduced the report, before speeches from EMD UK’s CEO, Gill-Cummings Bell, Ricky Boardman, Head of Research and Development at the Alliance, and Emma Smallman, the founder of Drum n’ Bounce and Dubstretch Fitness.

It was fantastic to be able to welcome a number of MPs and Lords to discuss the findings of the report and highlight the important role group exercise can and should play in policy making, and making us a more active and healthier nation.

To find out more about the report and its key findings, please visit EMD UK's website.

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