This page is a summary of a recent evaluation of GoodGym conducted by London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) on the combined effects of physical exercise and volunteering. Links to further evaluations can be found at the bottom of the page.

LSE conducted a study with GoodGym for 2 years to understand the benefits to mental health when combining physical exercise and volunteering. The results were described as “extraordinary” by Dr. Chris Krekel, lead researcher on the project.

Measured in 6 outcomes of mental wellbeing GoodGymers were found to have a positive change across all 6 with the boost in life satisfaction the same as observed in someone who escapes unemployment to 6 months of employment. Specifically, the findings show participation in GoodGym:

• Increases life satisfaction by 21%
• Increases worthwhileness by 17%
• Decreases mental distress by 21%
• Decreases loneliness by 12%
• Increases belonging by 27%
• Increases connectedness by 16%

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The research

Little systematic evidence exists on the combination of physical exercise and volunteering. LSE sees this evaluation as an ambitious step forward, the results of which could influence future public policy to help tackle the rising mental health crisis.

GoodGym was considered the ideal platform to generate evidence for this evaluation due to its scale, variety of activities, and unique blend of physical exercise and volunteering. Over 2 years, LSE was able to collect data from 3600 unique respondents.

Methodology

Multivariate regression analysis was used to calculate the impact of participating in GoodGym on six outcomes, measured in terms of standard deviations (SD):

• Life satisfaction
• Worthwhileness
• Mental distress
• Loneliness
• Belongingness
• Connectedness

These 6 outcomes were chosen according to the research team's theory of change, or what they felt would best measure the impact on a GoodGymer. All 6 are taken from established psychological literature, and most currently used by the Office of National Statistics.

GoodGymers were invited to take a survey on 3 occasions across a 2 year period. Respondents included a mix of people, some who had participated in GoodGym, and others who had signed up but not yet participated, allowing for comparison to be made.

GoodGymers were also asked a single wellbeing question when signing up for a session, and again after completing a session. This was measured on a 1 - 10 scale. The results allow researchers to understand the GoodGymers mental state across time with many data points.

Initial findings

Participating in GoodGym has a significant and long lasting effect on the mental health of the participant, even after not attending for a while. LSE discovered a positive change in all 6 of the measured outcomes, suggesting the improvement to mental health GoodGym provides is not restricted to any one aspect, rather a culmination of many factors with the strongest change recorded for belonging and life satisfaction.

Below is a graph displaying the results of the evaluation. The numerical values are shown as standard deviations to make them comparable, although each outcome was measured on its own respective scale.

This evaluation is yet to be peer reviewed; however preliminary findings suggest a significant difference in the wellbeing of someone who does participate in GoodGym, compared to someone who does not.

Implications

GoodGym provides a mutually beneficial relationship between the GoodGym member and beneficiaries. Regularly supporting community projects or isolated older people, a GoodGymer can see and feel the good they do for others in the moment. This evaluation gives weight to the less visceral, long-term effects on the individual as a result of participation.

To see change across all 6 outcomes, or in some cases ‘strong change’ (a change of >0.20 SD), suggests GoodGym offers a unique and effective solution for increasing wellbeing. Operating within 60+ diverse communities across the UK, GoodGym has systemised the launch and growth of new areas, empowering local people to drive the initiative with support from a small central office team. Should the LSE succeed in influencing future policy to prioritise public wellbeing, GoodGym stands as a now proven method and measurable intervention to combat the growing mental health crisis within the UK.

For LSE, the success of this evaluation provides systematic evidence of the benefits of combining physical exercise with volunteering, a previously under-studied topic. A further evaluation on the impact of GoodGym’s older people work is at the ideation stage. The results will offer a holistic understanding of GoodGym’s impact.

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The research team

Dr Ekaterina Oparina

Dr Ekaterina Oparina is a post-doctoral Research Economist in the Community Wellbeing Programme of the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics. She completed her PhD in Economics at the University of Surrey in autumn 2020. She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Dr Christian Krekel

Dr Christian Krekel is Assistant Professor in Behavioural Science in the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science, London School of Economics and a Research Associate at the Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics, and at the Wellbeing Research Centre, University of Oxford. He is an applied economist: his research fields are behavioural economics and wellbeing, policy and programme evaluation, and applied panel and spatial analysis. He obtained his PhD in Economics from the Paris School of Economics. His research looks at how our environment affects our lives – specifically our behaviour, health, and (ultimately) our wellbeing. He is also interested in using nudges to increase pro-environmental behaviour. His work is aimed at improving evidence-based policy on how to improve these outcomes in a cost-effective manner. Christian is a frequent advisor to international organisations such as the World Bank or the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). He also advises national governments, for example, on how to use wellbeing data for policy analysis and appraisal. For his work, Christian has been awarded the Young Economist Award (FEEM Award) by the European Economic Association.

Dr Maria Cotofan

Dr Maria Cotofan is a Lecturer in Economics and Policy at the Department of Political Economy. She is also a Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Economics Performance at the LSE and an Associate at the Wellbeing Research Centre at Oxford University. Previously, Maria was a Research Officer at the Centre for Economic Performance (LSE) and she holds a PhD from Erasmus University. She works predominantly in policy evaluation and on topics such as inequality, the effects of deprivation and of poor economic experiences, and the well-functioning of labour markets.

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Read the LSE x GoodGym May 2024 event booklet

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Previous research on GoodGym

The impact of GoodGym has been independently evaluated twice before, including GoodGym’s work with older people.

2021 External Evaluation:

• GoodGym increases mental wellbeing. People involved in GoodGym for a period of 4-8 months show a statistically significantly improvement in mental wellbeing.
• GoodGym reduces social isolation for older people. Older people involved with GoodGym activities show a statistically significantly improvement in levels of social isolation
• GoodGym reduces feelings of loneliness for older people. Older people involved with GoodGym activities showed a significant improvement in loneliness scores.
• GoodGym increases physical activity. People reporting running longer distances and for longer periods of time due to their involvement.
• GoodGym increases volunteering. People engaged in GoodGym show a marked increase in the amount of volunteering.

Read the full 2021 evaluation here GoodGym Ecorys Report Published 2021

2017 External evaluation:

Outcomes for older people

• GoodGymers have a direct, positive impact on the older people they visit, alleviating their feelings of social isolation and loneliness, as well as improving their mental wellbeing.
• Older people interviewed reported positive outcomes related to their emotional isolation.
• Older people find their GoodGym befrienders to be people who take a genuine interest in them and care for their wellbeing. All coaches felt happier, and 98% considered their befriender a friend.
• On a scale of 1-5, the average scores for social isolation improved from 2.44 at the baseline stage to 2.74 at follow-up (on a scale of 1-5) while the average scores for frequency of feeling lonely improved positively from 2.11 to 2.58.
• More individuals scored their life satisfaction as high (7-8 points) or very high (9-10 points) after six months of seeing a GoodGymer (eight in total at the follow-up stage compared to four at the baseline stage). Average life satisfaction scores changed from 4.78 at the baseline stage to 6.11 at follow-up.
• GoodGymers facilitate the achievement of further positive outcomes for the older people they visit, namely: ability to stay in their own house for longer; increased active mental engagement; inspiration to take up new activities; and improved attitude towards younger people.

Outcomes for participants

• The majority (57%) of people would not have joined another running club instead of GoodGym.
• The average number of days spent running amongst the participants was 9.5 days per month at six months after joining (an increase of 0.7 days). The survey findings also suggest that GoodGym helps participants to meet the Government’s recommended levels of weekly physical activity, as the survey showed some short-term overall increases in levels of weekly physical activity at six months after first joining GoodGym.

Read the full 2017 evaluation here Evaluation of GoodGym