Metro Vancouverites' Attitudes and Habits Related to Exercise in the Winter Months

Vancouver, BC - A survey, conducted on behalf of Fitness Town, asked adults in Metro Vancouver about their attitudes and habits relating to exercise during the winter months, and in particular, during the holiday season. The first part of the results, entitled "Exercise Wanes During Holidays for Many in Metro Vancouver," was released on December 19, 2013 and focussed on why Metro Vancouverites exercise less during the holiday season, their plans regarding fitness resolutions and why they workout at home more often in the winter months.

Here are the results of the additional questions from the study that focussed on the impact of Metro Vancouverites' jobs and family obligations, as well as the lifestyle of their parents, the importance of modeling a healthy and fit lifestyle to children and the inhibitors to working out at home.

The survey looked at how workers in Metro Vancouver feel their job impacts their level of physical activity. Approximately half (47%) of workers in Metro Vancouver say their job currently inhibits them from getting the amount of exercise they would like during a typical work week. Among those who feel this way about their job, the most common ways they say their job inhibits their ability to exercise include:

• Being exhausted after the working day (76%);
• Long working hours (46%);
• Wasted time commuting to and from work (45%); and,
• Stressful job demands (43%)

The survey also found that in addition to the holiday season and work interfering with physical activity levels of Metro Vancouverites, family obligations get in the way as well. More than half (57%) of parents in Metro Vancouver say they are less active now than they were when they were younger, and this group cites time being taken up with their children (76%) and lack of time due to work/social obligations (74%) as being the top two reasons for this decrease in activity. Other reasons for the decline include exercise not being a priority (21%), lack of physical ability (18%) and financial reasons (16%).

When Metro Vancouver parents were asked about the type of lifestyle their own parents modeled growing up, one-third (33%) say their parents set an example of a healthy and active lifestyle and that has positively affected their lifestyle today. A much smaller proportion say their parents modeled a healthy and active lifestyle and that has had no impact on their current lifestyle choices. On the flip side, 11% of Metro Vancouver parents say their own parents set an example of an unhealthy and inactive lifestyle and it has positively impacted their current lifestyle habits, while 13% say they parents unhealthy lifestyle choices have had no impact on their current lifestyle habits and 4% say their parents unhealthy lifestyle choices has negatively impacted their own current lifestyle habits.

When it comes to the importance on modeling a healthy lifestyle for their children, virtually all (95%) parents in Metro Vancouver say they feel it is important for them to set a positive example through a healthy and fit lifestyle for their children, with 61% who say it is very important and 34% who say it is somewhat important.

Despite the importance that Metro Vancouver parents place on modeling a healthy and fit lifestyle for their children, only 15% of them say they engage in fitness activities together as a family on a regular basis, while more than half (56%) say they do so occasionally. Six percent of parents in Metro Vancouver say they currently do not do fitness activities together as a family, but plan to start doing so, while roughly one-quarter (23%) say they do not currently do fitness activities together as a family and have no plans to start doing so.

In addition to examining inhibitors to exercise, the survey also looked at home workouts and found that more than half (58%) say they work out at home, with 20% who work out at home regularly and 38% who do so occasionally.

Among the 42% of Metro Vancouverites who say they do not work out at home, the top reasons they cite for not doing so include:

• Do not own home equipment (40%);
• Not interested in working out at home (37%);
• Not enough space at home (32%);
• Not sure how to/what to do (21%);
• No time/hectic lifestyle (19%); and,
• Have equipment, not motivated to use it (9%).

These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of Peak Communicators and Fitness Town. The poll of 987 adult Metro Vancouver residents was conducted online using Ipsos Reid's online household panel between November 27 and December 13, 2013. These data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Metro Vancouver population according to 2011 Census data. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within +/- 3.6 percentage points had all British Columbia adults been surveyed. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

The December 19, 2013 press release can be accessed here: http://www.ipsos-na.com/news-polls/pressrelease.aspx?id=6365

For more information on this news release please contact:

Michael Rodenburgh
Executive Vice President
Ipsos West
(778) 373-5010
[email protected]

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