Insufficient physical activity variations
Background
This chapter uses data from the 2017–18 National Health Survey, conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) to investigate in greater depth exactly how much physical and muscle strengthening activity is being done by adults aged 18 and over, and adolescents aged 15 to 17, who did not meet the recommended amount of physical activity according to the Australian Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour guidelines (Department of Health 2017) (the guidelines).
It examines the number of days on which physical activity was undertaken, the number of minutes performed, broken down into 30 minute increments, for those aged 18 and over, and 60 minute increments for 15 to 17 year olds. It also looks the number of days on which muscle strengthening activities were performed in the last week.
Those considered as not meeting the guidelines in this report, are defined in accordance with the definition in Table 1.
| Age Group | Insufficient physical activity | Insufficient muscle strengthening activity |
|---|---|---|
|
15 to 17 years |
Have not completed at least 60 minutes per day of physical activity on each day of the previous week |
Have not done muscle strengthening activities on at least 3 days in the previous week |
|
18 to 64 years |
Have not accumulated at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity across at least 5 days in the previous week |
Have not done muscle strengthening activities on at least 2 days in the previous week |
|
65 years and over |
Have not completed at least 30 minutes per day of physical activity, on at least 5 days in the previous week |
Have not done muscle strengthening activities on at least 2 days in the previous week |
It should be noted that some people undertook more than the recommended minimum minutes, but were considered to have not met the guidelines as they did not do so on at least the recommended number of days. Similarly, some people exercised on the recommended number of days (or more), but were considered to have not met the guidelines, as they did not undertake the recommended number of minutes of physical activity.
The 2017–18 National Health Survey (ABS 2018) included a collection of self-reported measures of physical activity. Responses were collected by trained interviewers. Participants were asked questions about how much physical activity they did over the previous week, the types of physical activity undertaken, the intensity, and the amount.
Examples of some survey questions include:
- What was the total amount of time you spent walking for fitness, recreation or sport in the last week?
- In the last week, did you do any exercise which caused a large increase in your heart rate or breathing, that is, vigorous exercise? (For example, jogging, cycling, aerobics, competitive tennis?)
- Some activities are designed to increase muscle strength or tone, such as lifting weights, resistance training, pull-ups, push-ups, or sit-ups. Including any activities already mentioned, in the last week did you do any strength or toning activities?
The 2017–18 National Health Survey also included, for the first time, questions on workplace physical activity. These questions have been incorporated into this report to calculate the amounts of physical activity undertaken. Examples of questions on workplace physical activity include:
- Does your work involve activity that causes a moderate increase in heart rate or breathing, such as brisk walking or carrying light loads, for at least 10 minutes continuously?
- Does your work involve vigorous-intensity activity that causes a large increase in heart rate or breathing, like carrying or lifting heavy loads, digging or construction work, for at least 10 minutes continuously?
For further information, refer to the ABS National Health Survey: First Results, 2017–18.
How inactive are people overall?
In 2017–18, the majority of people across all age groups, with the exception of males aged 18 to 64, did not meet their age-appropriate guidelines for physical activity or muscle strengthening activity. Just under half (46%) of adult men aged 18 to 64 did not meet the physical activity component of the guideline. Those in the youngest (15 to 17) and oldest (65 and over) age groups were less likely to meet either the physical activity or muscle strengthening activity components of the guidelines compared with those in the 18 to 64 age group.
A greater proportion of females did not meet either component of the guideline across all age groups, with females aged 15 to 17 having the highest proportion not meeting the guideline for physical activity (95%, compared with 84% of males aged 15 to 17) and muscle strengthening activity (91%, compared with 78% of males aged 15 to 17).
It should be noted that, as the guidelines recommend different amounts of physical activity are required at various stages of life, the calculation of those not meeting the guidelines varies accordingly. For this reason, caution should be exercised in drawing direct comparisons between age groups.
The first dashboard describes the proportion of people aged 15 to 17, 18 to 64, and 65 and over who did not do sufficient activity in the previous week to meet the physical activity component of their age-appropriate guidelines. A high proportion of both males (84%) and females (95%) aged 15 to 17 did not meet the physical activity component of the guidelines. Similarly, the majority of people aged 65 and over did not meet the physical activity component of the guideline – 69% of men and 75% of women. Close to half of men (46%) and women (55%) aged 18 to 64 did not meet the physical activity component of the guideline.
The additional dashboard inside the below visualisation provides the breakdown of those failing to meet the muscle strengthening component of the guideline, by age and sex, in the previous week. The majority of all age groups failed to meet the muscle strengthening component of the guideline.
How does insufficient physical activity vary by age?
In 2017–18, 46% of men and 55% of women aged 18 to 64 did not meet the physical activity guideline.
Days of physical activity in the last week
This section looks at those who did no physical activity (that is, 0 days in the last week), those who did any amount of physical activity on 1, 2, 3 or 4 days in the last week, and those who accumulated less than 150 minutes of physical activity, but did physical activity on 5 or more days of the previous week.
Among the 18 to 64 year old men and women who did not meet the physical activity guideline:
- only a small proportion did physical activity on 5 or more days in the last week (13% or less of men and women, across all age groups)
- approximately 1 in 3 men (34%) aged 18 to 24 did physical activity on 4 days in the last week, compared with 1 in 4 (25%) women in the same age group.
Minutes of physical activity in the last week
This section looks at those who accumulated fewer than 150 minutes over any number of days in the previous week (in 30-minute time increments, from 0 to 29 minutes, to 120-149 minutes), and those who did 150 minutes or more in the previous week, but on fewer than 5 days.
Among 18 to 64 year old men and women who did not meet the physical activity guideline:
- almost half (49%) of men and 38% of women aged 18 to 24 did 150 minutes or more of physical activity in the last week
- more than a third of men (34%) and women (35%) aged 55 to 64 completed less than 30 minutes of physical activity in the last week.
Average days of physical activity, by time increment, in the last week
This section looks at the average number of days in the last week on which all people aged 18 to 64 undertook physical activity, by time increment.
To calculate the average number of days on which physical activity was done, the lowest time increment, of 0 to 29 minutes was separated into:
- those doing 0 minutes, on 0 days and therefore completely physically inactive, and
- those doing 1-29 minutes.
Among the 18 to 64 year olds who did not meet the physical activity guideline:
- just under a quarter of men (23%) and women (23%) were completely physically inactive (that is, did 0 minutes of physical activity in the last week, on 0 days). Taking into account that more women than men did not meet the physical activity guidelines overall, the estimated number of men and women aged 18 to 64 doing who did no physical activity in the last week equates to 784,000 and 944,000 respectively. For more information on estimates, refer to Supplementary table S9.
- men and women who did the highest weekly minutes of physical activity (150 minutes or more) did so on an average of 3 days in the last week.
The first dashboard in this visualisation details the number of days on which physical activity was undertaken by those aged 18 to 64 who did not meet the physical activity guidelines, by sex, and broken down into the following age sub-groups: 18 to 24, 25 to 34, 35 to 44, 45 to 54 and 55 to 64. Fewer than 14% of males and 12% of females of all age sub-groups did physical activity on the required 5 or more days in the last week. Approximately a third (34%) of men and a quarter (25%) of women in the youngest age sub-group (18 to 24) undertook physical activity on 4 days in the last week. There was a higher proportion of people doing no activity in the last week (that is 0 days) among the older age sub-group – 32% of men and 29% of women aged 55 to 64 doing physical activity on no days in the previous week. This proportion was lower among the younger age group – 10% of men and 17% of women aged 18 to 24 doing physical activity on no days in the previous week.
The additional dashboards in the below visualisation provide a further breakdown of the number of minutes (in 30 minute increments from 0 to 149 minutes, and those who did 150 minutes or more) of physical activity undertaken by those aged 18 to 64, and the average days on which physical activity was undertaken, by minutes of physical activity done in the last week.
In 2017-18, 69% of men and 75% of women aged 65 and over did not meet the physical activity guideline.
Days of physical activity in the last week
This section looks at those who did no physical activity (that is, 0 days of physical activity) in the last week, those who did any amount of physical activity on 1, 2, 3 or 4 days in the last week, and those who did physical activity on 5 or more days in the last week, but did not complete the recommended 30 minutes or more of physical activity on each of those days.
Among the men and women aged 65 and over who did not meet the physical activity guideline:
- just over a third of men (35%) and two fifths of women (40%) aged 65 and over were completely physically inactive in the last week (that is, did 0 days of physical activity in the last week)
- only 17% of men and 12% of women aged 65 and over completed some physical activity on the recommended 5 or more days in the last week.
Minutes of physical activity in the last week
This section looks at those who did fewer than 150 minutes of physical activity in the previous week (in 30-minute time increments), and those who accumulated 150 minutes or more in the previous week, but did not complete at least 30 minutes of physical activity per day on 5 or more days in the previous week.
Among those men and women aged 65 and over who did not meet the physical activity guideline:
- more than one third (39%) of men and almost half (47%) of women completed less than 30 minutes in the last week
- at the other end of the spectrum, 29% of men and 18% of women completed 150 minutes or more of physical activity in the last week.
Average days of physical activity, by time increment, in the last week
This section looks at average days per week on which physical activity was done, by time increment. Due to small numbers within each time category, these data cannot be broken down by sex.
To calculate the average days on which physical activity was done, the lowest time increment, of 0 to 29 minutes was separated into those doing 0 minutes (therefore, on 0 days), and those doing 1-29 minutes.
Among the men and women aged 65 and over who did not meet the physical activity guideline:
- 38% of people were completely physically inactive (that is, did 0 minutes of physical activity in the last week, on 0 days) – equivalent to an estimated 983,000 people aged 65 and over who did no physical activity in the last week. For more information on estimates, refer to Supplementary table S9.
- the 23% of people who performed 150 minutes or more of physical activity in the last week did so on an average of 4 days.
The first dashboard in this visualisation details the number of days on which physical activity was undertaken by those aged 65 and over who did not meet the physical activity guidelines, by sex. Among both men and women in this age group, the highest proportion fell in the 0 days category – that is, 35% of men and 41% of women aged 65 and over did no physical activity in the previous week. Further, only 17% of men and 12% of women aged 65 and over did physical activity on the recommended 5 days or more in the last week.
The additional dashboards in the below visualisation provide a further breakdown of the number of minutes (in 30 minute increments from 0 to 149 minutes, and those who did 150 minutes or more) of physical activity undertaken by those aged 65 and over, and the average days on which physical activity was undertaken, by minutes of physical activity done in the last week.
In 2017–18, 84% of males and 95% of females aged 18 to 64 did not meet the physical activity guideline.
Days of physical activity in the last week
This section looks at those who did no physical activity (that is, 0 days of physical activity) in the last week, those who did any amount of physical activity on 1 to 6 days in the last week, and those who did physical activity on 7 days in the last week, but did not do at least 60 minutes of physical activity on each of those days.
Among those males and females aged 15 to 17 who did not meet the physical activity guideline:
- 28% of males and 24% of females did physical activity on 5 days in the last week
18% of males and 11% of females did some physical activity on the recommended 7 days in the last week
- 11% of males and 13% of females were completely physically inactive (that is, did 0 days of physical activity in the last week).
The average number of days on which physical activity was done, by time increment, could not be reported for this age group, due to small numbers within each time category.
Minutes of physical activity in the last week
This section looks at those who did fewer than 420 minutes of physical activity in the previous week (in 60 minute increments, from 0 to 59 minutes, to 360 to 419 minutes), and those who accumulated 420 minutes or more in the previous week, but did not complete at least 60 minutes of physical activity per day on every day of the previous week.
Among adolescents aged 15 to 17 who did not meet the physical activity guideline:
- more than a third of males (35%) completed 420 minutes or more in the last week, compared with 19% of females
- 4 in 10 females and 2 in 10 males did less than 2 hours of physical activity in the last week.
The first dashboard in this visualisation details the number of days on which physical activity was undertaken by those aged 15 to 17, who did not meet the physical activity guidelines, by sex. Only 18% of males and 11% of females did physical activity on the recommended 7 days in the previous week. However, almost a quarter (28% of males and 24% of females) did physical activity on 5 days in the previous week. Approximately 1 in 9 males and 1 in 8 females did not do any physical activity in the last week (that is, on 0 days).
The additional dashboard in the below visualisation provides a further breakdown of the number of minutes (in 60 minute increments between 0 and 419 minutes, and those who did 420 minutes or more) of physical activity undertaken by those aged 15 to 17, by sex.
How does insufficient muscle strengthening activity vary by age?
In 2017–18, 73% of men and 77% of women aged 18 to 64 did not meet the muscle strengthening activity guideline. Of those aged 65 and over, 83% of men and 85% of women did not meet the muscle strengthening activity guideline.
Days of muscle strengthening activities in the last week
This section looks at those aged 18 to 64, and those aged 65 and over who performed muscle strengthening activities on 0 or 1 day in the last week.
Among people aged 18 and over who did not meet the muscle strengthening activities guideline:
- Of those aged 18 to 64, fewer than 12% of men or women, across all age sub-groups, did muscle strengthening activities on 1 day in the previous week
- 97% of men and 96% of women aged 65 and over did not perform muscle strengthening activities on any day in the last week.
This visualisation shows the breakdown of the number of days on which muscle strengthening activities were done by those aged 18 and over who did not meet the guideline of undertaking muscle strengthening activities on at least 2 days in the last week – that is, the proportion of people who did muscle strengthening activities on only 1 day, and those who did no muscle strengthening activities in the last week. The vast majority (greater than 88% of all age subgroups, for both males and females) not meeting the muscle strengthening activity guidelines did not do any muscle strengthening activities in the last week, with the remaining minority (11% or fewer) doing muscle strengthening activities on only 1 day in the last week.
In 2017–18, 78% of males and 91% of females aged 15 to 17 did not meet the muscle strengthening activity guideline.
Days of muscle strengthening activities in the last week
This section looks at those aged 15 to 17 who performed muscle strengthening activities on 0, 1, or 2 days in the last week.
Among those males and females aged 15 to 17 who did not meet the muscle strengthening activities guideline, a similar pattern was seen to that of the older age groups:
- the majority of males (68%) and females (77%) aged 15-17 years did not perform muscle strengthening activities on any day in the last week.
This visualisation shows the breakdown of the number of days on which muscle strengthening activities were done by those aged 15 to 17 who did not meet the guideline of undertaking muscle strengthening activities on at least 3 days in the last week – that is, the proportion of people who did muscle strengthening activities on 1 day, those who did it on 2 days and those who did no muscle strengthening activities in the last week. More than two-thirds (68%) of males and three-quarters (77%) of females did not do any muscle strengthening activities in the previous week (that is, on 0 days). The remaining proportion was approximately evenly divided between those who did muscle strengthening activities on 1 day (15% of males, 13% of females) and those who did so on 2 days (16% of males and 10% of females).
ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) 2018. National Health Survey: First Results, 2017–18. ABS cat, no. 4364.0.55.001. Canberra: ABS.
ABS 2019. Microdata: National Health Survey, 2017–18. ABS cat. no. 4324.0.55.001. Findings based on Microdata analysis. Canberra: ABS.
Department of Health 2017. Australia's Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines. Canberra: Department of Health. Viewed 14 July 2020.