The Covid-19 pandemic has prompted Britons to adopt a healthier lifestyle, new research from life insurer AIG Life has revealed.
According to the findings, nearly one in three adults (30%) plan to keep up healthy lifestyle habits they adopted during the pandemic, while nearly half (48%) are aiming to try to live more healthily in the aftermath.
Younger generations were slightly more inclined to maintain a healthier lifestyle, with 32% of under-35s planning to keep up changes compared with 29% of over-55s.
Walks were found to be the most popular health improvement cited by 46% of adults – with the number rising to 52% among the over-55s.
Meanwhile, diet was also found to be a factor, AIG Life said, with nearly a third (29%) of adults saying they are eating more healthily and 16% cutting down on alcohol consumption. Just 16% of people questioned had taken no action to improve their health during the ongoing crisis.
Sue Helmont, marketing director, AIG Life, said: “The restrictions on daily life have been hard for all of us. But it’s a testament to people’s resilience and willingness to adapt that so many of us have taken action ourselves to improve our health and are committed to maintaining those changes when life eventually returns to something like normal.
“Keeping up healthier habits is challenging and takes continued willpower so it’s not a surprise that one in 10 of us started lockdown with good health intentions but couldn’t keep good habits up. This pandemic has shown us that we need to consciously manage our health and wellbeing. There are plenty of sources of advice and help out there, including Smart Health from AIG. If people stick with it, they will see the benefits to their health over time.”
