Why people do exercise

Men and women say reducing their risk of cancer is last on a list of reasons to exercise according to a national survey* by Cancer Research UK and Cannons.

After keeping fit, the main motivation for 16-24 year olds to exercise is to look good. 59 per cent of women said they wanted to lose weight. And only 39 per cent of people wanted to reduce their risk of cancer.

This backs up our research, and makes me think that if people's main reason for exercising is to look good and lose weight, then that's what we should promote. The reduction in the risk of cancer will come automatically if people do exercise or sport, so let's promote the benefits that they're really interested in.

For tips on how to promote sport to people of different ages, and to see why people of different ages take part visit the How to promote sport to different people section of the Promoting Sport toolkit.