The ukactive Research Institute has ‘come of age’ according to ukactive operations director Geraldine Tuck, who will today (11 February) announce a major breakthrough in its academic endeavours.

Tuck will tell the Quest in Leisure Conference that all six of the ukactive Research Institute’s abstract submissions to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Annual Meeting have been accepted – a landmark that will “translate into tangible opportunities for the sector.”

The six abstracts – among them landmark findings into children’s inactivity – will be launched on 30 May by the Research Institute at the ACSM annual conference in Boston, USA.

The research, led by ukactive research director Dr Steven Mann, focuses on three priority areas for both the Institute and the wider sector: youth inactivity, exercise referral, and engaging inactive populations – whether this be via a facility or placing activity professionals within GP surgeries.

The core focus of the research is to develop a better understanding of the motivations for individuals to become active and which methods prove the most effective in engaging people from a wide demographic.

“The research projects which have been accepted by ACSM have been the core work of the Research Institute since day one, which is why it’s so pleasing that they’ve been accepted,” said Mann, who believes the breakthrough could be a defining moment for the Institute’s future academic work.

“I’m confident that the Institute will now go to the next level, continuing to build a solid basis of academic credibility while providing the activity sector with an ally in the improvement of products and programmes.”

The ukactive Research Institute, whose Scientific Advisory Board is chaired by Professor Greg Whyte, was formed in 2012 to translate predominantly lab-based sports and exercise medicine into real-world research that could be used by the sector to understand what drives people to become more active. The Institute has carried out a number of high-profile research projects both within the sector and also for the government, with Public Health England’s What Works study a particular highlight.