Table 4 Main reasons walkers joined/still participate in Heart Foundation Walking by yeara
2010 (n = 1984) | 2011 (n = 2796) | 2012 (n = 3585) | 2015 (n = 1601) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
All | Female | Male | All | Female | Male | All | Female | Male | ||
Main reasons JOINED (%)b | ||||||||||
To manage my weight | 45.4 | 53.4 | 53.9 | 52.1 | 50.8 | 50.6 | 51.1 | 46.7 | 47.7 | 42.8 |
To meet new people | 48.8 | 55.4 | 56.7 | 50.4 | 59.0 | 60.7 | 52.8 | 62.2 | 63.6 | 56.6 |
To improve my fitness | 76.8 | 85.8 | 86.0 | 84.6 | 82.2 | 82.7 | 81.0 | 81.0 | 81.7 | 78.3 |
To have time out from other commitments (at 2010 this was phrased as “to have time to myself”) | 8.3 | 19.9 | 21.2 | 14.6 | 20.4 | 21.5 | 15.6 | 17.4 | 18.5 | 13.1 |
To look and feel good | 44.7 | 39.0 | 40.9 | 31.8 | 33.8 | 35.3 | 27.4 | 28.7 | 29.9 | 24.2 |
To improve my health | 67.1 | 79.9 | 79.4 | 81.9 | 81.9 | 81.5 | 83.2 | 80.2 | 79.4 | 83.5 |
To relieve and manage stress | 19.3 | 29.8 | 32.0 | 21.1 | 29.9 | 31.6 | 22.9 | 29.0 | 30.9 | 21.4 |
For fun / enjoyment | 45.8 | 60.4 | 61.7 | 55.6 | 57.2 | 58.1 | 53.6 | 59.1 | 60.6 | 53.5 |
To have more energy | 33.2 | 42.2 | 44.3 | 33.3 | 38.9 | 40.9 | 31.5 | 35.5 | 38.5 | 23.9 |
Because a doctor / health professional recommended me | 8.3 | 13.7 | 12.0 | 19.8 | 12.3 | 11.0 | 16.4 | 8.8 | 8.1 | 11.6 |
To balance other things I do (e.g. over-indulgence) | 4.8 | 11.9 | 11.5 | 13.2 | 10.8 | 10.8 | 10.5 | 8.1 | 7.9 | 8.9 |
To spend time with others | 41.1 | 46.6 | 48.4 | 39.5 | 42.7 | 43.6 | 39.3 | 41.6 | 42.4 | 38.5 |
Other | 6.8 | 2.6 | 2.7 | 2.1 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 5.2 |
Unsure | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.6 |
Main reasons STILL PARTICIPATINGc (Not asked in 2010) (%) | ||||||||||
Social aspect | – | 61.4 | 64.2 | 51.2 | 56.7 | 58.7 | 49.8 | 73.4 | 75.9 | 64.4 |
Fitness / exercise | – | 54.7 | 54.9 | 54.9 | 53.5 | 54.1 | 52.0 | 55.0 | 53.7 | 59.5 |
Health | – | 25.2 | 25.1 | 23.8 | 26.4 | 24.9 | 31.5 | 21.5 | 21.0 | 23.2 |
Wellbeing | – | 2.7 | 2.9 | 1.4 | 7.1 | 7.0 | 6.8 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 2.5 |
Manage weight / weight loss | – | 6.7 | 6.5 | 6.9 | 5.1 | 5.3 | 3.9 | 2.5 | 2.2 | 3.2 |
Support / motivation | – | 9.0 | 9.2 | 8.6 | 10.0 | 10.8 | 7.3 | 12.3 | 13.4 | 8.5 |
Walking locations and condition (e.g. safe, weather) | – | 7.3 | 7.1 | 7.9 | 6.8 | 7.7 | 3.8 | 7.8 | 8.6 | 4.9 |
Enjoyment | – | 12.0 | 12.9 | 8.6 | 21.6 | 22.8 | 17.0 | 12.3 | 13.1 | 9.5 |
Other | – | 6.7 | 6.7 | 7.2 | 2.6 | 2.4 | 3.4 | 7.9 | 7.5 | 9.2 |