Band 7+: The bar chart below shows the percentage of Australian men and women in different age groups who did regular physical activity in 2010. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

The bar chart illustrates the proportion of physically active Australians in 2010, divided into age groups.

Overall, about half of the population in nearly all age groups were physically active. However, a bigger proportion of women were physically active than men in all groups except the youngest one.

For men, the most physically active age group were the 15-to-24-year-olds, of whom nearly 53% did regular physical activity. The activity levels of men started to decline with age, with 35-to-44-year-olds being the least active group at just under 40%. However, after this, physical activity increased again, with nearly 47% of men over 65 being physically active.

For women, the trend is nearly opposite. The least physically active groups were 15-to-24-year-olds and over 65-year-olds, both at just under 48%. Conversely, over half of the women aged 35 to 64 did regular physical activity. The biggest gendered difference can be found in people aged 35 to 44 where almost 53% of women were physically active compared to just under 40% of men.