GM Active’s exercise referral programme boosts physical and mental health

By GM Active | 21 August 2025 | TAGS: GM Active, Leisure, Health

Exercise referral programmes in Greater Manchester are leading to significant improvements in physical and mental wellbeing and reduced demand on the NHS.

That’s the findings of a new study, commissioned by GM Active and part-funded by GM Moving, which investigated the impact of delivering physical activity as a health intervention.

State of Life reviewed data from 3,000 survey respondents from the eight Greater Manchester boroughs.

They found that taking part in exercise referral programmes provided improved happiness, mental wellbeing, self-belief, physical health, and reduced loneliness.

The biggest gains were seen among those who are physically inactive, have a disability or a long-term health condition, or live in more deprived communities.

Specifically, gains were highest among those who participated at least 4-6 times a week, attended supervised sessions and specialist classes, and stayed in the programme for at least 4-6 weeks.

The report also shows that benefits have remained high even among people who started in a programme up to two years ago.

Participants also reported 19% fewer GP appointments over a 28-day period compared to those waiting to join the programme.

The findings make a compelling case for expanding and embedding exercise referral as part of the shift from treatment to prevention outlined in the NHS 10-Year Plan.

They also support Greater Manchester’s wider Live Well ambition to create a public health system that reduces inequalities and pressure on public services.

Andy King, Chair of GM Active, said:

“The results of this study are significant. We were determined to properly understand the effect that physical activity could have when used as an intervention to improve a person’s health and wellbeing.

“We were prepared to be disappointed with the results - that’s the risk we took – but we were confident that physical activity really is medicine.

“The impact upon people’s lives is clear; at a time when central government is looking for transformational changes in its approach to health services, and across Greater Manchester and the UK there is unequivocal commitment to the Live Well initiative, this study gives ample evidence of the role that physical activity can play.”

The Data

The independent study was commissioned by GM Active to State of Life and builds on their work developing a new model of social value for Sport England.

They found that participating in a GM Active physical activity referral scheme, compared to the waiting list, led to a 1.32-point improvement in life satisfaction on a 0 to 10 scale.

This increase, by HM Treasury guidance, equates to £21,800 per person per year of wellbeing benefit from the GM Active exercise referral programme.

This is significantly higher than the social value (£2,500) Sport England associate with a typical active adult, demonstrating the need to support those with most health benefits to gain.

Using NHS methodology, the programme produces an average health improvement equivalent to 0.08 years of life lived in perfect health. This is notable on a scale where even a 0.037 change is often regarded as clinically important in England.

The 0.08 improvement comes from a standardised and widely used questionnaire in health and is valued at £5,600 per person per year, in addition to the above.

The NHS benchmark cost for a 0.08 improvement is around £1,200 with estimates in the GM Active study suggesting the actual costs could be less than a quarter of this.

A spokesperson for State of Life said:

“The NHS’ 10-year strategy sets out to deliver health outcomes in non-NHS settings. This study makes a very good case for just how to get started.

“What’s more, 80% of participants say they plan to stay physically active after finishing a programme, and 66% say they intend to continue as customers at their GM Active centre.

“This suggests many participants transition from being funded referrals to self-sustaining members, contributing directly to the financial viability of the service providers.”

Downloads

• GM Active Exercise Referal Technical Report