In 2019 over 90% of Australians did some form of physical activity but did the COVID-19 pandemic affect this in 2020?
Increase In Physical Activity
When the majority of Australia went into various stages of lockdown, there was actually an increase in people being physically active from 33% in March to 42% in April.
The latest AusPlay report compared physical activity habits between April-June 2019 and April-June 2020.
Interestingly, the numbers of those who exercised once a week, stayed the same. While those exercising 3 or more times a week increased across the board.
As for the reasons people were physically active:
- In 2019, 79.2% were active for physical health or fitness compared to 84.6% in 2020
- In 2019, 19.8% were active for psychological/mental health/therapy to 27.2% in 2020
- In 2019, 30.4% were active for social reasons to 34.2% in 2020
More Bike Riders
Currently bike riding is sitting in 5th position (36.1%) as the most participated in activity by adults in Australia. Just below, jogging (41.8%), running (41%), yoga (38.6%) and exercise at home (37.9%).
“With many people working from home and other activities cancelled, people are finding more time to be physically active.”
“It’s great to see and we would encourage everyone to keep physically active as things return to normal” said Kim Lavender, Bicycle NSW Communications Manager.
If you are in need of new places to ride to stay engaged with physical activity, please visit here.
