88.5m reached in National Fitness Day campaign, 10.2m on the day
National Fitness Day 2023 in September reached 88.5m people in the campaign that puts a spotlight on lifelong health.
Powered by ukactive’s members and partners, the annual event took place on 20 September, under the theme ‘Your Health is for Life’, with free activities hosted by gyms, swimming pools, leisure centres, sports clubs, studios, schools, workplaces and online providers.
Results published earlier this month by ukactive show that in the UK, an estimated 10.2m people were directly motivated to participate in an activity on the day itself, while many more were encouraged to be active throughout the campaign by further events and communications.
The global media reach of the campaign, measured by Vuelio, shows an audience of 57.2m – up from 48.7m in 2022 – following extensive press coverage.
Social media plays a major role in driving the campaign, and this year saw a total global reach of 31.3m people engaged across the major platforms, ukactive said.
People of all ages and abilities shared their personal experiences and health stories on Instagram, X [formally known as Twitter] and Facebook, as well as celebrities such as Joe Wicks and Carol Vorderman.
The campaign was elevated by three major new partners for National Fitness Day: men’s mental health charity Movember, sports reward platform Endurance Zone and sports nutrition business Optimum Nutrition.
This year also saw the launch of the first Fitness Day Rewards app, delivered by Endurance Zone, which offers prizes and discounts as incentives for being more active. The app can still be downloaded for both Apple and Android users until February 2024.
The campaign culminated with thousands of activities being held across the UK on 20 September, beginning with the National Fitness Day kick-off event, which for the first time was held in Manchester, hosted by GM Active in partnership with ukactive.
