Physical activity report

Healthwatch Windsor Ascot and Maidenhead (WAM), in partnership with Get Berkshire Active, were interested to hear from people living in the The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead to learn more about the physical activities that they were involved in, to identify how many of the local residents took part in or were aware of the initiatives provided by The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead and to identify any barriers that people were facing when trying to get active.

Residents of Windsor, Ascot and Maidenhead were invited to take part in a survey about how much exercise they do through a survey. The survey was advertised online and respondents were able to complete the survey through ‘SurveyMonkey’. Additionally, members of Healthwatch WAM went into the community and undertook surveys within a number of locations in the Dedworth area such as Tesco, Costa, Wye Valley Coffee Shop, All Saints Church and Men’s Matters Windsor.

The Physical Activity Survey has reached a total of 221 people, representative of a diverse population across the areas of Windsor, Ascot and Maidenhead.

The following key findings are informed by the data provided by respondents through the physical activity survey:

The majority of people surveyed identified as physically active. This differed from the national study, in which people self-identified as undertaking less activity. However, from the types of physical activity some described, it may be that some people are overestimating their levels of activity they take as ensuring that they are physically active. A high proportion of activity described was informal (walking, housework etc.) rather than more organised physical activity such as exercise classes or going to the gym. Although the majority of people took part in moderate physical activity every day, a large proportion of people would like to do more physical activity. This represents a significant opportunity for public health, sports and leisure campaigns and activities. The most common reasons for people taking part in physical activity were to improve their fitness or to improve their general health and wellbeing. People would like to take part in more group activities. The majority of people get information about opportunities to take part in physical activity from the internet, social media, newspapers, leisure centres or through word of mouth. This is an important factor for any future work undertaken, in order to encourage activity. Only a tiny fraction found out about activities from council websites. The most common barrier that prevented people from taking part in any or more physical activity was time. There was a marginal difference in the proportion of people who reported that childcare and the cost of physical activity were barriers to participation in physical activity, with more residents of Dedworth citing these reasons in comparison to non-Dedworth residents. A small portion of people are interested in becoming someone who could lead activities for other people to join in, if given training and support. Overall the findings do not show large variations from Dedworth residents in comparison to non-Dedworth residents. Some people with health problems did not exercise more as they were concerned exercise might cause them more health problems.

This report contains 9 recommendations but does not include a formal response from the provider