"The most valuable commodity I know of is information."

Gordon Gekko, Wall Street

The sports and physical activity sector has changed a great deal over the last two decades. One of the most significant changes is in its collection and use of data.

Just a few years ago, there was a dearth of useful data in the sector. However, over the last 10 years, there has been a considerable increase in the data available on participation and activity: The Active People Survey (APS), begun in 2005, now provides an annual overview of participation in NGB sport and active recreation; and the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) measures the height and weight of school children in Reception Year and in Year 6. This, for a time, complemented the School Sports Survey, which ran until 2010, and which measured how much PE was being offered within curriculum time. Additionally, the Health Survey for England (HSE) commissioned by the Health & Social Care Information Centre, interviews members of the public annually on core topics such as general health, height, weight and blood pressure. Each year the survey focuses on a particular topic: in both 2008 and 2012 this was physical activity. As a result, there is significantly more useful data available to the sector. However, there are challenges around the collection and interpretation of the data which can potentially limit its practical and strategic usefulness.

Firstly, the different data collection methods and their metrics can be inconsistent. For example, the APS survey measures participation in conventional competitive sports and other selected active recreations, such as mountaineering. However, it does not measure general physical activity – until recently it did not include recreational walking or cycling. Meanwhile, the HSE data includes figures on participation in a broader range of non-sport activities such as housework, DIY and occupational activities.

Secondly, the results can be inaccurate. For example, the HSE relies on self- assessment of physical activity, which often bears little resemblance to actual activity patterns. In the 2008 HSE questionnaire, 39% of men and 29% of women reported that they met the recommended minimum level of physical activity. However, when accelerometers were used to measure their physical activity objectively, the real percentages were actually 6% and 4%.

Thirdly, the issue of sport and physical activity is spread across a number of areas including education, health and leisure. There are also many different types of organization involved, from NGBs to charitable organisations. The remit is spread across government departments, from DCMS and DoH to DCLG and the Treasury. The different areas involved not only have their own priorities and objectives, but their own data. If this data does not correspond, this will not only lead to confusion as to the nature of the problem, but can also result in bodies seeking separate, rather than joint solutions.

The fourth and most strategically significant challenge for the current data is in its use as a measure of the nation's health. The UK is facing severe long term public health problems and physical activity in itself could act as both the prevention and cure for a number of these problems. UKActive research has shown that if everyone in England achieved the recommended amount of physical activity, 37,000 lives would be saved every year. Dr Nick Cavill, of the British Heart Foundation, summed this up succinctly: "If exercise were a pill, it would be one of the most cost-effective drugs ever invented,"

However, if is to be regarded as such, it should ideally be prescribed and monitored in the same way as other medicine. Thus a doctor will prescribe a medicine and then record the effects of that medicine. For example, statins are aimed at reducing cholesterol levels. To assess the dosage required and test their effectiveness, doctors measure cholesterol levels to see if they have declined. The problem is that the current data does not accurately measure the effects of the treatment – i.e. the extent to which our health is improving as a result of undertaking physical activity – it simply measures how much activity we are taking. Thus we are measuring the treatment, not the results. It is the equivalent of doctors prescribing statins and then measuring how many statins the patient is taking, as opposed to measuring cholesterol levels.

As a result, in the absence of such data showing the effects, we are instead falling back on the data gathered from tools such as the APS and HSE, and using these as proxies from which to make assumptions as to our health status, but the data from these surveys are extremely limited in their ability to predict health and fitness. This is because they are not directly measuring our health, but other aspects of our lives, such as physical activity undertaken and BMI levels, which don't always correlate with health. For example, knowing how much activity someone does per week does not tell you about their overall health or fitness levels.

One solution which could assist with these challenges is that of fitness testing. Fitness testing is, in essence, a series of assessments taken by experts to determine physical fitness and health status. Measurements can include strength, stamina, speed, power and agility. The results can then be used to highlight current health conditions, to identify potential health risks and to design effective activity programmes. The key benefit of fitness testing is that it provides direct data on the key metrics of health, such as cardiorespiratory fitness, endurance and strength. One series of tests can provide a detailed overview of an individual's health, irrespective of other factors, such as activity levels, weight or lifestyle.

Fitness data is also considerably more accurate – in testing individuals objectively, there is no bias arising from self reporting or misunderstanding and it provides a completely consistent set of data. This can then be used as a single evidence baseline across the different organisations and departments in the sector, and encourage the disparate bodies into a single approach.

Data from fitness testing therefore can provide everyone from government, sports organisations down to the individuals themselves, with an accurate picture of their health status – and what needs to be done. In an era where data is everything, it could be the piece of the information jigsaw that the government needs.

Alex Scott-Bayfield is a Director of Fitmedia Ltd and a Director of Sportsgroup. This article is an abridged version of a longer piece on data collection in sport and physical activity that can be downloaded from The Caborn Room on this website.