We’re launching the Move it or Lose it Impact Report 2026 at our Healthy Ageing Conference in Birmingham on Friday 9 October. It brings together our largest class member survey yet, practical strength findings and the stories of people whose lives have changed through movement and community.

This year, 1,517 class members shared their experiences. Their responses show how accessible, enjoyable exercise can become part of everyday life, helping people feel more active, confident and connected.

The report also marks ten years of FABS instructor training, celebrating the instructors who make those opportunities possible in communities across the UK.

Our impact at a glance

• Around 70,000 older adults reached each week through community classes.
• 1,517 class members contributed to our 2026 survey.
• 84% of surveyed members say Move it or Lose it has helped them become more active.
• 72% say they feel physically stronger.
• 74% say their overall wellbeing has improved.
• 74% say Move it or Lose it helps them stay independent.
• 85% feel part of a community, and 82% have made new social connections through classes.
• An independent HACT forecast estimates £74.8 million of social value in 2025/26.

Behind every figure is a person: someone who feels able to try a new activity, has found friends after bereavement, or can keep doing the everyday things that matter to them.

Helping older adults feel confident about exercise

Knowing that movement matters is only part of the picture. People also need somewhere they feel comfortable starting, particularly if they have been inactive, are living with a health condition or have lost confidence.

Before joining, only 11% of surveyed members described themselves as very confident being physically active. That rose to 49% when they described their current confidence. Among those who recalled starting with little or no confidence, 92% now describe themselves as moderately or very confident.

Our instructors play a central role: 89% of members say encouragement from their instructor has helped them become more active. Meanwhile, 67% say being able to adapt exercises to their ability has helped.

These findings reinforce why our classes offer seated and standing options, with no need for floorwork. Members can take part in ways that suit their ability, supported by an instructor who understands the needs of older adults.

Find a Move it or Lose it class here.

Strength that matters in everyday life

The report includes results from a 30-second sit-to-stand challenge, which measures how many times a person can rise from a chair and sit down in 30 seconds. It offers an indication of lower body strength and functional ability, relevant to everyday activities such as getting up from the sofa or getting out of a car.

Across 496 members with valid age and gender-matched scores, 91% scored within or above the national norm. In the same group, 72% achieved scores comparable with people at least ten years younger.

Among women aged 70 and over, at least 86% performed at a level comparable with someone ten years younger, and 55% with someone at least fifteen years younger. The median measured age gap in this group was fifteen years.

These are comparisons of performance on one functional test, rather than claims that exercise reverses biological ageing. They are encouraging findings about the functional strength of participating members.

Reaching people who need accessible opportunities to move

Around two-thirds of surveyed class members report living with at least one long-term health condition. And 38% say they would be unlikely or very unlikely to be exercising at all without Move it or Lose it.

More than half of respondents are aged 71–80, and responses came from more than 65 postcode areas. The need for welcoming, adaptable exercise exists across cities, towns, villages and rural communities.

Anita, 73, describes what that means for her: “Now I can spend active times with my young grandchildren.”

Her experience captures the purpose behind the programme: helping people keep doing the things they value.

More than an exercise class

For many members, the class is an important part of their social life as well as their activity routine.

In our survey, 85% say they feel part of a community through Move it or Lose it, 82% have made new social connections, and 78% say the social side of class is very or moderately important to them. Three-quarters say the social side has helped them become more active.

Vivien, 77, tells us: “I was lost after the death of my husband. My new friends have given me my life back.”

A familiar face at the door, a chat after class and the encouragement to come back next week can help make movement a lasting part of someone’s life.

Ten years of FABS instructor training

FABS stands for Flexibility, Aerobic fitness, Balance and Strength: the four components at the heart of our programme.

Over the past decade, more than 1,700 people have trained with Move it or Lose it. FABS-trained instructors have delivered an estimated 720,000 classes, representing around 10.8 million class attendances.

The report also celebrates the careers behind those classes. Sian found a new direction after retiring from the Civil Service. Laura built a business around family life after leaving television. Cat began without previous experience as a fitness instructor and discovered work she describes as her calling.

Among instructors responding to our motivation questions, 62% wanted to give back to their community and 62% wanted to stay active and have purpose. Their stories show how training can create opportunities for meaningful work alongside local opportunities to exercise.

Explore FABS instructor training, including our Fast Track route for existing fitness professionals.

The wider social value of community exercise

An independent HACT social value forecast estimates that Move it or Lose it generated £74.8 million of social value in 2025/26, using the UK Social Value Bank methodology.

The forecast reflects the wider value associated with physical activity, confidence, social connection, training and instructor opportunities. It helps express benefits that extend beyond the class itself. This is an estimate of social value, rather than a figure for income or cash savings to the NHS.

What comes next

Our next steps focus on reaching more people and giving members more opportunities to stay active.

We will continue developing the Move it or Lose it Online Club, supporting movement at home alongside community classes.

We are also expanding Strength & Balance Circuits, a format launched in 2025 that gives instructors another way to deliver progressive, adaptable exercise. The report highlights its potential to engage more men, who made up just 6% of this year’s member survey respondents.

Alongside this, we will explore how appropriate movement can support people using GLP-1 medications to protect strength and everyday function alongside clinical care. This is a future area of work, rather than an evaluated outcome of the 2026 report.

Our ambition is to help more people experience later life with the confidence, strength and connection to keep doing what matters to them.

Read the full Impact Report 2026

Thank you to every class member who shared their experience, every instructor who creates a welcoming place to move, and every partner who supports our work.

Read our Impact Report 2026 here

*About the findings: survey outcomes reflect class members’ self-reported experiences. Sit-to-stand results are comparisons with age and gender norms among participating members with valid scores. Reach, decade totals and social value are estimates or forecasts, as described in the report.*