Research and Insight

• Cost of Living Report 2023
• EMD UK Instructor Wellbeing Report and Recommendations 2022

The National Survey aims to gain insight into group exercise as nationally representative across the population. Click below to download the surveys.

• National Survey 2022
• National Survey 2020
• National Survey 2018 – overview (please contact insight@emduk.org to access the full report)
• National Survey 2015 – group exercise
• National Survey 2015 – dance fitness
• National Survey 2015 – dance participation for 14-15 year olds

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, we surveyed instructors to understand the impact of COVID-19 on their businesses and how we as their national governing body could support them.

• EMD UK Instructor Survey – navigating fitness after lockdown
• EMD UK Instructor Survey – how are you getting on (revisited)
• EMD UK Instructor Survey – how are you getting on?
• EMD UK Instructor Check-In Survey
• Self-employed income support scheme instructor survey (May 2020)

Our annual Participant Survey aims to provide information from the people that attend group exercise classes. This survey tracks satisfaction levels, key trends, barriers and more. Click on the links below to download the surveys.

• Participant Survey 2017
• Participant Survey 2016
• Participant Survey 2015
• Participant Survey 2015 video

A Sport England report, Active Lives is a new way of measuring sport and activity across England and replaces the Active People Survey

• Active Lives Adult May 2020/21 Report
• Active Lives Adult November 2019-20 Report
• Active Lives Children and Young Persons Report – Academic year 2019/20
• Active Lives Report October 2019
• Active Lives Report October 2019 – Analysis
• Active Lives Report October 2018
• Active Lives Report October 2018 – Analysis
• Active Lives Children and Young Persons report – Academic year 2017/18
• Active Lives Report March 2018
• Active Lives Report March 2018 – Analysis
• Active Lives Report October 2017 – Analysis
• Active Lives EMD UK summary 2017

‘Sport for all – why ethnicity and culture matters in sport and physical activity’, published by Sport England today, is the most comprehensive ever picture of how people from BAME communities are taking part in sport and physical activity.

• Sport for All Report

• Social value of movement and dance – Sport and Rec Alliance, 2023

Activity Alliance is the leading voice for disabled people in sport and activity. Established in 1998 as a national charity, we were previously known as the English Federation of Disability Sport.

• Annual Disability and Activity Survey

Get Set to Go is funded by Mind, Sport England and the National Lottery. Funding was awarded in October 2014 for a three-year programme to support people with mental health problems to get physically active in their local communities.

• Key findings
• Evaluation Report

Les Mills Global Fitness Reports

• 2021 Report

Trends for 2018 CREP Edition

This annual survey of worldwide fitness trends is now in its 12th year. It includes some member organizations of the Coalition for the Registration of Exercise Professionals (CREP). Participating organizations included the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), American Council on Exercise (ACE), National Council on Strength and Fitness (NCSF), and The Cooper Institute®.

• 2021 Trends Report
• 2020 Trends Report
• 2018 Trends Report

2017 Active Leisure Trends

Data Hub and ukactive report showing the growth of group fitness in 2017.

• 2017 Leisure Trends Report
• Consumer Fitness Trends, Statistics & Insights for Fitness Facilities

Here you’ll find a plethora of research reports from around the world on group exercise. Click below to download.

• Effects of Group Fitness Classes on Stress and Quality of Life of Medical Students
• Gender differences in physical activity motivators and context preferences: a population-based study in people in their sixties
• Group exercise for adults and elderly: Determinants of participation in group exercise and its associations with health outcome
• Group fitness is effective in reducing cardiovascular disease risk factors in healthy adults
• Impact of physical activity on the risk of cardiovascular disease in middle-aged and older adults: EPIC Norfolk prospective population study
• Long-term Group Exercise for People With Parkinson’s Disease: A Feasibility Study
• Perceptions of group exercise courses and instructors among Quebec adults
• Perceptions of the activity, the social climate, and the self during group exercise classes regulate intrinsic satisfaction
• Regular group exercise contributes to balanced health in older adults in Japan: a qualitative study
• Social Bonds and Exercise: Evidence for a Reciprocal Relationship
• What Impact Does Group Exercise Have on Retention?
• The effects of training group exercise class instructors to adopt a motivationally adaptive communication style
• Perceptions of group exercise participants based on body type, appearance and attractiveness of the instructor
• The role of fitness professionals in Public Health, a review of the literature