The ‘activity trap’: fear of losing benefits is stopping some disabled people from exercising

Some disabled people avoid exercise because they fear that being physically active could put their disability benefits at risk, new research suggests. Marcos Castillo/Shutterstock

For some people with disabilities, going swimming or attending an exercise class comes with a worry that many others would never consider: could being seen to be physically active lead to their disability benefits being stopped?

This fear is known as the activity trap. A new report published by Disability Rights UK draws on research I led at Durham University and developed with disabled people and disability organisations. Of the disabled people we surveyed, 80% worried that being physically active could put their benefits at risk.