New research from the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) has revealed that more Australians than ever are currently motivated to take up moving for their mental health.
Chief Executive of ASC, Kieren Perkins said the latest AusPlay National Sport and Physical Activity Participation Report showed the number of adults (ages 15 and up) deciding to be active for mental health reasons had almost doubled in five years, from 16 per cent in 2017 to 31 per cent this year.
“Aside from the mental health benefits, Australians are increasingly participating in sport and physical activity for fun, social reasons and to be outdoors,” Mr Perkins said.
“However, the percentage of people in the same cohort who say being active isn’t a priority has increased to 11 per cent this year – the highest ever result in AusPlay.”
He said the results highlighted a change in the way Australians were becoming active.
“We are seeing more Australians engage in activities such as bush walking, yoga, pilates and exergaming which can be enjoyed at times and locations that suit them,” Mr Perkins said.
“We know many people are juggling multiple commitments and it’s important that our sports continue to explore how best to engage with Australians who are looking for flexibility to suit their lifestyles,” he said.
“Almost half (47 per cent) or 2,363,000 children aged 0-14 are participating in organised outside-of-school sport or physical activity at least once a week, an increase from 42 per cent the previous year as the nation continues to recover from the pandemic.”
Mr Perkins said the most popular activities for boys were swimming, football/soccer and AFL, and swimming, dancing and gymnastics for girls.
He said bush walking continued to be popular among males, with 872,000 males having gone bush walking in the past 12 months, making it the third most popular non-sport activity for men after walking and fitness/gym.
“Yoga stretched past bush walking as the third most popular non-sport activity for women with 1,291,000 participants, after walking and fitness/gym,” the Chief Executive said.
“Martial arts and sailing also made the list for most popular sports for older Australians aged 55 and up, with 88,000 males sailing and 85,000 females participating in martial arts.”
The ASC’s 100-page AusPlay Report can be accessed at this PS News link.
