Keeping fit

The majority of people live in towns and cities, where space for team sports is limited. To keep fit, most people take part in individual sports. They usually go walking, swimming, cycling, or do aerobics. Taking part in all of these sports is informal and casual. Most people just want to relax. If they do aerobics or go swimming, they usually go to the sports centre, but not many people join a sports club. In the morning, many people follow fitness classes shown on TV.

Although many British people are interested in staying healthy, not many people do very much about it. A recent survey proved that many people were not as active as they thought and incorrectly believed that they did enough exercise to stay healthy. Only 10 per cent of adults take part in sport more than twice a week.

There are 2,000 sports centres in Britain: one for every town, large or small. They were built mostly in the 1980s to encourage the public to take part in sport. The number of people who take part in sport has risen, but not many people exercise more than one a month.

Michael Vaughan-Rees, Geraldine Sweeney, Picot Cassidy: In Britain. 21st Century Edition, Cornelsen Verlag, 2000, page 62