Newport named the UK city LEAST interested in being healthy

A new study has found that Bristol is the UK city where the public are most interested in being or becoming healthy.  

Research conducted by fitness experts at Bulk.com analysed the cities and towns in the UK where people are most interested in becoming healthy. Using 27 search terms related to health and fitness, the study combined average monthly searches in 62 cities and large towns to reveal the monthly searches per 100,000 people in that area. 

For 61 of the 62 cities, the most searched for term was ‘gyms near me’. The anomaly was East Kilbride, where people searched for the phrase ‘calorie calculator’ slightly more. Meanwhile, the term ‘swimming pool near me’ was also heavily searched for, with it ranking as the second most searched for term in 48 of the 62 cities – including in every city ranked in the top 10.  

The 10 UK cities most interested in being healthy 

The study found that Bristol had the most searches per 100,000 people (5,636) over the last 12 months for terms related to health and fitness, making them the city most interested in being healthy in the UK.  

Bristol was closely followed by Manchester, who with 5,625 searches per 100,000 people, ranked in second. Reading, who have a far smaller population (173,170) than both Bristol and Manchester, were next on the list with 5,347 searches per 100,000.  

With 5,264 searches (per 100,000 people) for terms related to health and fitness, Norwich ranked in fourth. Norwich were closely followed by Cambridge (4,882 searches per 100,000 people), who ranked in fifth. Cambridge’s third most searched for term was found to be ‘pilates’, a result that differed from the rest of the top 10.  

Salford, who have the lowest population out of any of the cities in the top 10 (103,886), were found to be the sixth city most interested in being healthy. ‘Calisthenics’ also ranked in fifth for Salford’s most searched for terms.   

Preston, who are the second least populated city in the top 10, ranked in eighth (4,377 searches per 100,000 people), whilst Birmingham, who are the most populated city in the top 10 (1,142,494), ranked in ninth.   

Liverpool completed the top ten with 4,268 monthly searches (per 100,000 people).  

Meanwhile, England’s capital, London, which is the most populated city in the UK (8,982,256), ranked in 13th. The city understandably had the biggest average monthly search volume overall (354,784), but the search volume per 100,000 people was significantly less (3,950) as a result of the population.  

The 10 UK cities least interested in being healthy 

On the opposite end of the scale, Newport ranked at the very bottom. With an average of just 255 searches per 100,000 people, the Welsh city was found to be the area least interested in being healthy in the UK.  

Although they have the smallest population of the 10 cities least interested in being or becoming healthy, East Kilbride averaged a search volume of just 344 for terms related to health and fitness over the past 12 months.  

Wakefield, who have the biggest population (353,802) out of the bottom 10, ranked in 60th. Derry, Lancaster, Winchester, Doncaster, Carlisle, Chelmsford and Dundee made up the rest of the 10 UK cities least interested in being healthy.    

A representative from fitness experts Bulk.com commented on the findings: “Every month, there are thousands of searches for terms related to health and fitness in the UK. This research offers a fascinating insight into where those searches are predominantly coming from and ultimately highlights where in the UK people are most interested in living a healthy and active lifestyle. 
 
“Seeking a healthy lifestyle is the first step to improving not only your physical health currently and for the future, but is a great step in supporting your mental wellbeing through exercise and healthy choices.”