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Table 3 Motivators for men and women to cycle, of total sample, transport-only cyclists, and recreation-only cyclists a

From: Gender differences in recreational and transport cycling: a cross-sectional mixed-methods comparison of cycling patterns, motivators, and constraints

Motivators Respondents who cycled within the last year (n = 1849) b Respondents who only cycled for transport in the last week (n = 292) b Respondents who only cycled for recreation in the last week (n = 783) b
  Men Women Gender differences Men Women Gender differences Men Women Gender differences
  % % OR 95%CI % % OR 95%CI % % OR 95%CI
Improving / maintaining fitness 98.6 97.6 0.73 0.37-1.45 98.1 98.9 2.99 0.32-10.39 100 100 **c ** c
Fun and enjoyment 88.6 91.2 1.54 1.05-2.25 70.6 79.9 1.87 0.83-4.19 95.0 95.0 1.12 0.47-2.68
Relaxation / stress reduction 87.4 83.6 0.90 0.65-1.23 78.1 79.2 1.72 0.78-3.83 92.2 88.3 0.71 0.40-1.27
Building physical activity into my busy lifestyle 85.4 90.0 1.86 1.32-2.63 89.5 91.7 0.99 0.35-2.80 86.0 91.0 2.06 1.20-3.54
To get outside in the fresh air 78.8 88.6 2.26 1.64-3.12 66.1 80.7 2.86 1.29-6.34 86.7 92.7 1.82 1.00-3.03
It is a challenge 70.0 71.1 1.10 0.86-1.42 43.3 50.8 1.33 0.71-2.50 78.7 82.9 1.50 0.93-2.42
It is a low impact activity 68.4 64.1 0.90 0.71-1.15 60.8 50.3 0.66 0.36-1.20 73.1 65.3 0.72 0.48-1.08
Time out to myself 65.5 67.6 1.22 0.96-1.57 49.0 59.5 1.80 0.91-3.57 72.0 69.0 0.93 0.62-1.39
Other health reasons 59.4 62.0 1.28 1.01-1.62 54.2 63.6 1.56 0.82-2.95 63.3 63.7 1.14 0.77-1.67
It is something active I can do with other people 57.8 68.9 1.53 1.20-1.96 21.4 26.6 1.14 0.57-2.29 70.7 82.9 1.71 1.09-2.69
It is a convenient form of transportd 57.6 64.2 1.32 1.03-1.70 90.5 93.7 1.29 0.38-4.33     
Concerns about the environmentd 53.5 71.7 2.02 1.58-2.59 70.0 84.4 1.98 0.93-4.20     
Confidence in my cycling ability 51.2 62.6 1.64 1.29-2.09 45.8 45.7 1.03 0.54-1.98 55.7 66.9 1.64 1.11-2.43
It is a cheap form of transportd 46.5 63.8 1.88 1.47-2.40 82.9 94.6 3.16 1.30-7.66     
Seeing other people cycling 38.8 50.5 1.48 1.17-1.87 30.2 41.6 1.66 0.85-3.23 44.7 54.5 1.22 0.85-1.76
Participating in a cycling event or program like Ride to Work Day 38.5 47.7 1.47 1.16-1.86 22.4 25.6 1.15 0.58-2.27 40.7 52.2 1.63 1.12-2.36
Encouragement from family, friends or work colleagues 22.8 36.7 1.73 1.34-2.23 19.4 28.2 1.27 0.64-2.51 23.3 36.5 1.66 1.13-2.45
Encouragement from supervisors or employerd 10.0 18.0 1.73 1.25-2.40 10.2 18.9 2.54 1.10-5.84     
  1. a All statistics account for clustering within household and adjust for age, education, employment status, household, number of cars in household, SEIFA, residential location, BMI, and years cycled as an adult, b Male is the referent category, c Not computed due to lack of variability between genders in responses, d Statistics not computed for recreational cycling as these were hypothesized to pertain only to transport cycling, Bold: p < 0.05.
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International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity

ISSN: 1479-5868

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