Physical activity
Sex differences
Levels of physical activity varied by sex, with 63.4 percent of young men and 47 percent of young women achieving the recommended level.
Proportion of young people aged 15 to 24 meeting guidelines for physical activity, by sex, 2006/07
Source: Ministry of Health, New Zealand Health Survey, 2006/07.
The small differences between the 15 to 19 and 20 to 24 youth age groups are not statistically significant. However, the sex differences within each age group are significant.
| Males % |
Females % |
Total % |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Age group | (95% CI) | (95% CI) | (95% CI) |
| 15 to 19 years | 61.6 | 50.0 | 55.9 |
| (54.9, 68.4) | (44.2, 55.9) | (51.4, 60.5) | |
| 20 to 24 years | 65.4 | 43.8 | 54.5 |
| (59.0, 71.7) | (36.9, 50.6) | (49.7, 59.2) | |
| 15 to 24 years | 63.4 | 47.0 | 55.2 |
| (58.8 - 68.0) | (42.2 - 51.8) | (51.8 - 58.6) |
Source: Ministry of Health, New Zealand Health Survey, 2006/07.
Note: “95%CI” (95 percent confidence interval) signifies that there is a 95 percent chance that the true value falls within this range. If the respective confidence intervals (in brackets) do not overlap, the difference between rates is likely to be statistically significant.
When 2006/07 New Zealand Health Survey data is aggregated by sex, it shows that young people aged 15 to 24 report fairly similar levels of physical activity to other age groups up to age 74. However, when disaggregated, the data shows very different patterns across the lifespan for men and women in terms of meeting physical activity guidelines.
The highest proportions of males meeting physical activity guidelines were found in the younger age groups, with rates declining to age 35 and then remaining steady through middle age. The highest proportion of women meeting physical activity guidelines was found in the 45-54 age group, with a fairly steady growth and decline on either side of that high point.
For both sexes, there is a marked drop-off in the proportion of people aged 75+ who meet physical activity guidelines.
Proportion of people meeting guidelines for physical activity, by age group and sex, 2006/07
Source: Ministry of Health, New Zealand Health Survey, 2006/07.
