Dudley is the hardest place in the West Midlands to exercise, followed by Birmingham and South Staffordshire

Dudley scores 38.2 out of 100 and is the hardest place to exercise of the West Midlands' 30 local authorities, and the 11th-hardest of England's 294.

Birmingham has 36 public swimming pools for almost 1.2 million residents, one of England's 50 lowest rates per head. Cannock Chase is one of 23 areas in England with no traffic-free National Cycle Network path. The study scored all 294 of England's local authorities on 15 measures, from gyms and swimming pools to traffic-free cycle routes and air pollution.

Dudley is the hardest place in the West Midlands to exercise, a comprehensive new analysis of gyms, pools, parks and outdoor conditions across England has found. The study, by adult services provider AdultWork, scored every local authority in England on 15 measures that impact opportunities to exercise. These include the number of gyms, leisure centres, swimming pools and sports halls per resident, parkrun events, traffic-free cycle routes, access to parks and green space, and the cost of the cheapest budget gym membership nearby.

Conditions that make exercising harder were also counted, including heavy rain, frost, dark winter evenings and air pollution, to calculate an overall score out of 100 for each area and rank them from the best place to exercise to the worst. Dudley has the lowest score of the West Midlands' 30 areas, at 38.2 out of 100, which makes it the 11th-hardest place to exercise in England. Sports halls host badminton, five-a-side and fitness classes, and Dudley has four public sports halls for around 332,000 people, the 11th-lowest rate in England.

Free weekly 5k runs organised by parkrun are open to anyone, and Dudley's single event gives it the third-lowest number per resident in the region and the 17th-lowest in England. Dudley is also in England's bottom 50 for traffic-free cycle path per resident, the routes that let people walk, run or cycle away from cars. Birmingham is the second-hardest place to exercise in the region with a score of 39.1 out of 100, and the 14th-hardest in England.

The city has 36 public swimming pools, for lane swimming, lessons and aqua classes, for almost 1.2 million residents, one of England's 50 lowest rates per head, and is also in England's bottom 50 for public sports halls and parkrun events per resident. Birmingham has the highest level of nitrogen dioxide air pollution where people live in the West Midlands and the second-highest level of fine particle pollution, which means dirtier air to breathe for anyone running or cycling outdoors. South Staffordshire is the third-hardest place to exercise on 39.5 out of 100, which makes it the 15th-hardest place to exercise in England.

Gyms and leisure centres are where most people go to train, and South Staffordshire's 12 give it the third-lowest number per resident in the West Midlands and the 15th-lowest in England. The district has around 2 km of traffic-free cycle path, one of England's 35 shortest networks per resident. Cannock Chase follows with 40.0 out of 100, and the 20th-hardest in England.

It is one of 23 areas in England with no traffic-free National Cycle Network path and one of 29 with no outdoor gyms, the free exercise equipment found in parks and public spaces. Its three public swimming pools give it the fourth-lowest number per resident in the region. Walsall completes the region's five hardest with 40.1 out of 100, which makes it the 22nd-hardest place to exercise in England.

Its single parkrun event gives it the fourth-lowest number per resident in the West Midlands and the 23rd-lowest in England, and the borough has the third-highest levels of both fine particle and nitrogen dioxide air pollution where people live in the region. All five of the West Midlands' hardest places to exercise are among England's 25 hardest places to exercise, and eight of the region's 30 areas are among England's 50 hardest places to exercise. Worcester is the region's best place to exercise, with a score of 63.9 out of 100 that makes it the 15th-best in England. Coventry is the sixth-hardest place to exercise in the West Midlands and the 27th-hardest in England, and Wolverhampton is seventh-hardest and 34th-hardest.