The bar graph compares the proportion of men and women who do regular exercise across different age groups in Malaysia.
Overall, it is interesting to note that the share of Malaysian females who engage in physical exercise on a regular basis is higher in all age brackets except for the 15-24 and 65 and over age categories. Furthermore, the percentage of frequently exercising males is highest in the 15-24 age group while the highest figures for females are recorded for the ages 35 to 64.
Gender differences in exercise participation level are quite striking in the first three age categories. 15-24 is the only age group where more Malaysian males are involved in exercise than females, with the former constituting nearly 55% and the latter around 47%. In sharp contrast, more 25-34-year-old females do exercise regularly compared to males in the same age group, at just under half and just over two-fifths respectively. The biggest disparity can be seen in the 25 to 44 age range, where females make up just over half compared to their male counterparts who account for below two-fifths.
Similarly, the shares of Malaysian females aged 45 to 54 and 55 to 64 who make a point of exercising on a frequent basis both stand at around 55% as opposed to males of the same ages who make up roughly 10% less. Finally, about 45% of Malaysian males and females are reported to take up exercise when they are 65 or older, making it the only age group where exercise participation level is relatively equal between both sexes.