Research conducted by Ipsos MORI for the Ramblers' Association in September 2006 refutes the belief that walking is unappealing to people from poor communities. The study found that residents in high deprivation areas -- the so-called "hard to reach" -- shared the same key motivations to exercise as the wider population.
The research found that people generally exercise to maintain health and improve fitness, with many seeing it as a social activity. The sociability of walking is seen as attractive because its low intensity does not leave people out of breath, and so they are free to talk. These findings applied across the community spectrum.
All participants identified mental as well as physical health among the important benefits of exercise, considering it an effective way to tackle stress and to allow valuable thinking time.
Similarly, all complained about the same the key barriers to exercise, which were time constraints (particularly for those who are working), the expense of facilities and the lack of appropriate facilities in an area.
The study did reveal that ‘exercise apathy’ - a lack of motivation and/or laziness - does play a key factor in low levels of exercise in deprived communities. Women are more likely to consider walking as exercise than men. For men, walking is often viewed as not ‘high impact’ enough to classify as exercise; if it doesn’t make them sweat they don’t perceive themselves to be getting any benefits.
There appeared to be no differences between ethnic groups, but differences in attitude were evident between men and women, between younger and older men and between those with young children and those without.
However, perceptions of walking can change. Once experiencing walking, people become much more positive about its benefits and enjoy themselves. Once actions are altered, attitudes to walking soon shift, it was found.
The findings are based on a focus group study in Birmingham. Participants were identified as relatively inactive and recruited to reflect a range of gender, age groups and ethnicities. However rather than exploring the issues over a single session, all participants were asked to spend two weeks walking for more than 30 minutes, at least three times each week, and to talk to families and friends about walking, then to return to discuss what they had discovered.
Read the full research report (PDF 440kB)
