The bar chart presented elucidates the proportion of Australian men and women engaged in regular physical activity across various age demographics in the year 2010.
In general, it is evident that male participation in physical activity surpassed that of females only in the younger age bracket of 15 to 24. Conversely, engagement levels between genders were nearly equivalent in the oldest age category.
Focusing on the younger cohort, specifically the 15 to 24 age group, a notable 52.8% of males participated in regular physical activities, compared to 47.7% of females. However, this trend reversed in the 25 to 34 age group, where the male percentage declined to 48.9%, contrasting with a marginally better percentage for females at 48.8%. This observation highlights a shift in engagement patterns as age increases, particularly marked by significant disparities in the middle age groups. For instance, in the 35 to 44 age category, 52.5% of males compared to 39.5% of females engaged in regular exercise, followed by the 45 to 54 age group with the male participation at 53.3% and female participation at 43.1%. Furthermore, the 55 to 64 age group recorded 53% for males versus 45.1% for females.
In the oldest segment, 65 years and above, the genders exhibited nearly equal engagement levels, with 46.7% of males and 47.1% of females maintaining an active lifestyle. Additionally, it is noteworthy that the percentage of females did increase gradually across the middle age brackets, specifically from 39.5% in the 35 to 44 group to 45.1% in the 55 to 64 group. This data indicates a trend wherein male activity levels remain consistently higher in the initial age categories while simultaneously revealing a convergence in activity levels between genders in the oldest cohort.