Brits are choosing physical fitness over their mental wellbeing

The nation is spending more time and money on physical fitness compared to their mental wellbeing, new research has found.

Brits on average are spending £63.85 and eight hours and 38 minutes of their time each month on physical activities such as training at the gym, swimming and cycling.

The study by Forest Holidays discovered that just £29.94 and three hours and 53 minutes were spent each month on activities designed to improve mental wellbeing, including meditation, life coaching, and going for a walk.

27 per cent also revealed that they wouldn’t know how to improve their mental wellbeing.

“Our mental wellbeing should never take second place to our physical health. Humans are complex beings where our physical and mental wellbeing work in tandem to create a healthy whole. If either part isn’t properly looked after, it’s likely that the other will also suffer,” said Sara Warber, MD, professor of family medicine at the University of Michigan and honorary professor at the University of Exeter Medical School.

“Due to a greater amount of public health advice around physical activity, there is a cultural acceptance of prioritising physical health over mental wellbeing. There are also visible motivators like the fear of obesity and the improved feelings one gets from being and looking stronger, which don’t exist in the same way for mental wellbeing. Social media is also a strong motivator as it creates a reinforcing community around whatever activity one undertakes and ‘brags’ about.

“Prioritising physical health over mental wellbeing could mean we’re potentially opening ourselves up to bigger health problems in the future, and could set an unhealthy precedent for future generations.”

92 per cent of Brits agreed that getting outdoors is important for the mind, yet one in three in the UK admit that they have never been for a walk in a nature.