A study of 112 major towns and cities in England and Wales has seen Newcastle named the second best for fitness lovers. Researches based their findings on the amount of fitness facilities per 100,000 of local population, air quality, amount of green space, average climate, and length of available cycling routes.
Each location analysed was then giving a score out of 100 and Newcastle's was 78.32. Elsewhere in the region Gateshead came 13th, Darlington 52nd, Sunderland 56th and South Shields 62nd.
The research was carried out by life insurance experts at Forbes Advisor who found that Southport was the best location for exercise lovers in England and Wales with a score of 79.94.
Newcastle's score was boosted with a high number of fitness facilities, researchers finding there was with an average of 20 available facilities per 100,000 of the local population. Stoke-on-Trent was third with a score of 74.18 thanks to the amount of cycle routes there.
Kevin Pratt, from Forbes Advisor said: "Exercise, for many of us, is its own reward. It helps us feel better, and it gives us the energy and sense of well-being we need to set about our daily lives with a positive attitude. And when it comes to an important product such as life insurance, it can even help us save money.
"When you apply for life insurance, you’ll be asked to provide detailed information about your health and medical history, including your height and weight, how much alcohol you drink, and whether you are a smoker.
"If the insurance company judges that you're in good shape for your age and have a healthy lifestyle, then generally you'll get a lower premium than someone who is broadly similar to you but who is deemed seriously overweight or who overindulges in alcohol or uses tobacco.
"If you live in an area that has the spaces and facilities to enable you to get plenty of exercise, that's something to celebrate. But even if you aren't, you can hopefully find a safe and enjoyable walking, running or cycling route nearby that will help you stay fit and on top of your game."
Table shows rank; location: green space surface area; air quality; climate; cycling routes length; fitness facilities per 100K population
1. Southport: 23.43; 9.89; 25.76; 0.48; 24.37; 79.94
2. Newcastle: 20.30; 12.24; 21.43; 0.58; 23.17; 78.32.
3. Stoke: 7.18; 11.52; 23.67; 0.70; 58.94; 74.18
4: St Albans: 19.22; 13.36; 27.63; 0.62; 17.60; 73.82
5. Sutton Coldfield: 20.54; 13.41; 35.73; 0.53; 17.77; 70.78
Selected others
13. Gateshead: 13.91; 12.48; 15.17; 0.59; 25.20; 65.18
52. Darlington: 20.34; 10.07; 8.93; 0.45; 4.07; 48.08
56. Sunderland: 10.87; 10.26; 7.62; 0.45; 27.56; 46.46
62. South Shields: 7.81; 11.53; 16.09; 0.40; 17.03; 44.12
* For the research, green space surface area included public parks, public gardens, golf courses, playing fields, outdoor tennis courts and bowling green areas.
For air quality, the five major pollutants used to determine overall air pollution were Nitrogen Dioxide, Sulphur Dioxide, Ozone, Particles (PM2.5) and Particles (PM10). The data was then aggregated to obtain yearly average pollutant registration and the air quality was calculated as an indicator of overall air quality by taking the maximum of all individual pollutants.
The Climate category saw long term climate averages from 1969 to 2019 analysed for wind speed at 10m, mean air temperature and total precipitation. Additionally, data from 2016 to 2017 was collated to calculate the mean monthly average sunshine duration in hours. The four variables were ranked to obtain a climate average.
Cycling route findings was based on cycle path data to look at the length of routes in each major town and city.
Fitness facilities was based on 12,737 fitness facilities companies from the Company House database and mapped to the specific towns and cities then put into the context of the amount available per 100,000 population.
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