The bar chart shows the percentage of Australian men and women of different ages who engaged in regular exercise in the year 2010.
Overall, female participation generally increased with age, while the reverse was true for males until middle age, and males experienced a lower peak and trough than the corresponding figures for females.
In the youngest age group, males outnumbered females, with 52.8% of 15- to 24-year-olds taking part in regular activity compared to 47.7% of females. However, this was the peak age range for men as numbers declined from this point on, reaching their lowest point at 35 to 44 years, when just under 40% exercised regularly. Although the figure increased again from the age of 45, male participation rates remained below 50% for almost all age groups.
In contrast, the younger females generally exercised less than their older counterparts. From the age of 25, female participation rates increased marginally but steadily, peaking at 55.3% between the ages of 45 and 54, then falling to their lowest point (47.1%) in the oldest group. Notably, more than 50% of women aged 35 to 64 exercised on a regular basis. Only from age 65 and over were the figures for both genders near parity at 46.7% (males) and 47.1% (females).