Are you an activewear player? The latest Roy Morgan Research statistics are in your favour.
Tony Abbott was famous for it, Julie Bishop’s a fan, and Bill Shorten did it throughout the recent election campaign: but jogging is not just a political past-time.
The latest findings from Roy Morgan Research reveal that almost a quarter of Australians aged 14+ go jogging either occasionally or regularly – a 66% increase on participation a decade ago.
In the 12 months to March 2006, 14.0% of Aussies reported that they went jogging on a regular or occasional basis.
As of March 2016, the participation rate had skyrocketed to 23.2%, making jogging the fastest-growing sport/exercise in the country over the last 10 years, ahead of hiking/bushwalking, cycling and yoga.
This boom in jogging participation is evident among men and women of all age groups.
Men’s overall participation has increased by almost 50% from 16.4% to 24.2%, while the proportion of total women joggers has almost doubled from 11.6% to 22.2%.
Jogging participation peaks among the 14-24 year-old age bracket, having risen from 33.6% to 45.1% of young men and from 32.5% to a staggering 48.5% of young women over the last decade. In terms of proportional growth, however, it’s the older brackets that have shown the biggest change – particularly among women.
For example, ten years ago, just 16.7% of women aged 25-34 were jogging occasionally or regularly – this has since doubled (and then some!) to a participation rate of 35.6%. Participation has jumped more than 150% from 8.7% to 22.2% among 35-49 year-old women, and tripled among women aged 50 and older.
bviously, the percentage of occasional and regular joggers declines with each progressive age bracket – for both genders – but this does not detract from the overall gains made.
Norman Morris, Industry Communications Director, Roy Morgan Research, says:
"Australia has been in the midst of a jogging boom over the past decade, driven in no small part by a surge in women’s participation.
"Meanwhile, the rise of fitness apps, trackers and the like has made it much easier for joggers to gauge their progress and quantify the benefits of their hard work, which must certainly be good for motivation.
"Our data also shows that the proportion of Aussies taking part in marathons has risen from 2.3% to 4.0% over the last 10 years, suggesting that not only are more people jogging in general, but more are taking it to the next, competitive level.
"As far as sports go, jogging can be a fairly low-cost activity. But for more committed participants, it can involve considerable outlay: after all, the right sportswear, running shoes and fitness bands don’t come cheap. (And that’s before we even get to event entry fees and physio treatment!).
"But with so many Australians jogging these days, companies specialising in sports apparel, footwear and technology need to be clear about who their target market is."