More people in the South East are planning to use health and fitness apps to help them achieve their New Year goals, according to new research.
The survey suggests that nearly a third (32%) of people in the region intend to use a fitness or wellbeing app to support their aims in 2026. More than half of respondents said the main benefit was the motivation apps provide, including reminders, progress tracking and goal-setting tools.
The research was commissioned by social enterprise GLL, which runs four Better leisure centres in Reading, to coincide with the launch of its new Live Better app. A total of 2,000 people were surveyed nationwide.
Just under four in ten people in the South East (38%) said their main goal for the year ahead was to get fitter and improve their overall health, while 34% said they wanted to reduce stress and improve their mental wellbeing.
Fitness apps are increasingly being used to support both physical and mental health goals. The most popular features include diet or nutrition tracking, used by 19% of respondents, mental health or mindfulness tools, cited by 16%, and sleep monitoring, used by 15%.
The findings also suggest digital tools may help people overcome barriers to using gyms and leisure centres. One third of respondents in the South East said they sometimes prefer to exercise at home for reasons of convenience or privacy. More than a third said they would avoid gyms if they felt uncomfortable or intimidated, while 21% said an unpredictable or busy work schedule could prevent them from attending in person.
When asked what mattered most in supporting their fitness routines, privacy was the top priority for 34% of respondents, followed by cost, at 26%. Short workouts that can be fitted into busy schedules were important for 23%.
Many respondents said fitness apps helped address these concerns, with 28% saying apps allowed them to exercise at a time that suited them, and 37% saying they helped them stay active when they did not want to work out around other people.
Taken together, the research suggests health and fitness apps are likely to play an increasingly central role as people set goals for the year ahead.
GLL said its Live Better app had been designed to combine motivation, flexibility and accessibility, offering workouts and wellbeing tools alongside progress tracking. The app is free for existing Better members, while non-members can access it for a monthly fee.
