IELTS Speaking · Part 3
Health and fitness: IELTS Speaking Part 3 questions
Last updated 2 September 2026
In short
Discussion questions
The examiner usually opens the discussion with: "What do people in your country usually do to stay healthy?", then works up from concrete to abstract.
Warm-up (concrete)
Why do some people find it so hard to keep fit?
Cause & effect
Development (societal)
How have people's lifestyles become less active than in the past?
ComparisonDo you think modern life is more stressful than it used to be?
OpinionWhat could be done to encourage people to exercise more?
Opinion
Depth (abstract & hypothetical)
Whose responsibility should it be to keep people healthy, individuals or the government?
EvaluationHow might healthcare change in the future because of technology?
SpeculationIf everyone exercised every day, how would society be different?
HypothesisIs mental health taken as seriously as physical health, in your opinion?
Evaluation
Useful vocabulary for this theme
Band 7+ language for discussing health and fitness.
- keep fit
- stay physically healthy and in shape
- “I go swimming twice a week to keep fit.”
- work up a sweat
- exercise hard enough to perspire
- “A good jog really lets me work up a sweat.”
- a sedentary lifestyle
- a way of living with very little physical activity
- “Office work can lead to a very sedentary lifestyle.”
- in good shape
- physically fit and healthy
- “My grandfather is still in good shape at eighty.”
- burn off calories
- use up energy through activity
- “Cycling to work helps me burn off calories every day.”