ST.

XAVIER’S COLLEGE (AUTONOMOUS), MUMBAI

DEPARTMENT OF STATISTICS

GROUP PROJECT

CLASS: TYBSc GROUP NO: 5

TITLE: Awareness and preferences of physical exercises

among various age groups.
 GROUP 5

GROUP MEMBERS

Sr Name Roll No. UID

No.

1 Sanshya Kapoor 301 182150

2 Vritika Mehta 292 182120

3 Harshit Raj 291 182109

4 Brandon Dcosta 311 182227

5 Hamza Ajmeri 321 182385

 INTRODUCTION
Physical activity and exercise have always been a major contributor to daily lifestyle, and has also
been changing with time. People allocate scheduled time for his or her routine activities like career
work, household job, and social network as compared to their physical activity.
According to WHO, Physical workout is any physical pastime that enhances or keeps bodily health,
ordinary fitness, and wellness. It is performed for diverse motives including strengthening muscular
tissues and the cardiovascular system, honing athletic skills, weight reduction, or maintenance, in
addition to for the cause of enjoyment. Frequent and regular bodily workout boosts the immune
system and helps prevent the "diseases of affluence" such as coronary heart disease, cardiovascular
disease, Type 2 diabetes, and weight problems. It additionally improves mental health, helps to
avoid depression, facilitates to promote or keep tremendous self-esteem, and might even increase
an individual's sex appeal or body image, which is likewise discovered to be related with better
tiers of self-esteem. Childhood obesity is a developing international problem and physical exercise
can also additionally assist lower the number of youth and adult weight problems. Health care
companies frequently call exercise the "miracle" or "wonder" drug—alluding to the wide range of
verified blessings that it provides.
According to WHO, physical inactivity is approximately estimated to be the main cause for 21–
25% of breast and colon cancers, 27% of diabetes, and 30% of ischemic heart disease burden.
Physical inactivity is known as the fourth leading risk factor for world mortality (6% of deaths
globally). This follows high blood pressure (13%), tobacco use (9%), and high glucose levels (6%).
Overweight and obesity are responsible for 5% of global mortality. Levels of physical inactivity
are increasing in many countries with major implications for the overall fitness of the people
worldwide and for the prevalence of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) such as cardiovascular
disease, diabetes, and cancer, and their hazardous elements such as raised blood pressure, increased
blood sugar, and obesity. In addition, NCDs now account for nearly 50% of the worldwide burden
of disease. It is predicted currently that of every 10 deaths, 6 are on account of non-communicable
conditions. Global health is being affected by three trends: population-aging, speedy unplanned
urbanization, and globalization, all of which bring about dangerous environments and behaviours.
As a result, the widespread presence of NCDs and their risk factors has become a worldwide
problem affecting both low- and middle-income countries. About 45% of the adult disease burden
in these countries is now because of NCDs. Many low and middle-income countries are beginning
to suffer the double burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases, and health systems
in these countries now need to address the extra expenses of treating both. There are pieces of
evidence to prove that participation in regular exercise routine reduces the risk of coronary heart
disease and stroke, diabetes, hypertension, colon cancer, breast cancer, and depression. Moreover,
exercising is a key determinant of energy expenditure, and thus is fundamental to energy balance
and weight control.
Interventions to promote physical exercises have had restricted success. One reason may be that
physically inactive adults are unaware that their level of physical activity is insufficient and do not
consider a need to change their behaviour. We thus aimed to assess the knowledge and awareness
of physical exercises and to investigate associations with socio-demographic, biological,
behavioural, and psychological factors.
Title:
Awareness and preferences of physical exercises among various age groups

Purpose:
Today, a lack of physical exercise is responsible for a large worldwide burden of diseases
and health care cost. Being physically active is one of the most important steps that one can
take to improve their health. An adequate knowledge on physical activity can encourage
people to exercise regularly. The Government of India has also taken up a lot of measures
like the fit India movement, public gyms at parks etc. Thus, this survey aims to assess
knowledge and awareness and study the association between different age groups and their
preferences when it comes to physical exercises.

Target Population:
People of or above 16 years of age in Mumbai who exercise.

Sample Size: 200

Objectives:
1. To ascertain the major reasons behind doing physical exercise.
2. To gain an insight into the awareness and importance of physical exercise among
people.
3. To analyse the relationship between age and the preferences of people for physical
exercise.

Confidentiality Note:
We respect your privacy. Your responses will be entirely confidential and we do not
collect identifying information such as name, email address, etc. the data we receive will
be used for academic purposes only.
 METHODOLOGY

The present study is both exploratory and analytical in approach. It is exploratory while dealing
with the respondents through our questionnaire. It is analytical while assessing the level of
awareness and the preferences of physical exercises among the different age groups.
The study is based on primary data which has been collected through survey method using pre-
tested questionnaire. The information was be-gathered from the local people of Mumbai.

Universe of the Study: Mumbai with special reference to the people of age 16 years and above
who exercise.
Sampling Method: Simple Random Sampling was adopted while conducting the survey.
Sample size: A sample of size 200 was selected.

Tools and techniques used: Questionnaire was used to collect the data.
Before analysis, the data collected was prepared. The dataset was cleaned by checking for missing
values and outliers. The data was then analysed using statistical soft-wares like R, Ms Excel and
Tableau. A combination of qualitative & quantitative data was used in our analysis. Along with
tables, graphs and diagrams, various tests like Chi-square test for independence of attributes,
Cramer’s V measure of association, one-way ANOVA were also used.

Administration of the Questionnaire: The questionnaire had 19 general questions. The questions
were organised along three thematic blocks. The first one included some demographic questions
and looked into the exercise routine of the people. The second focused on the preferences of people
for physical exercise. Questions from the third block covered several aspects related to awareness
of physical exercise among people. The questionnaire combined multiple-choice and Likert scale
questions with predefined answers offering respondents the possibility to choose and rank among
several options or the possibility to grade on a “very low” to “very high” scale.
The questionnaire was pre-tested on a sample of 25 people from our target population to check its
efficiency and feasibility. To conduct the final survey, Simple Random Sampling was used and
people from the age group of 16 & above living in Mumbai received a link of google form through
WhatsApp or other online platforms to participate in the survey anonymously, and 200 responses
were collected.

Stratification of The Population: Concerning the distribution of the sample by gender, 52% of
the respondents were female and 48% were male. The sample was divided into the age groups of
16-25 (24%), 26-35 (21%), 36-45 (18%), 46-55 (22%) and 56 & above (15%).
 PILOT SURVEY REPORT

A pilot survey was conducted to check the feasibility and performance of our questionnaire. In this
survey the questionnaire was pre-tested on a small sample of 25 people from our target population
to gain an insight on their preferences and their awareness about physical exercise, as well as
whether the questions were straight-forward or confusing. It was done using google forms.
Several improvements have been made to the questionnaire based on the suggestions as well as
responses of the respondents in order to make the questionnaire more effective & respondent
friendly.
• It was realized that not everyone is comfortable with sharing details about their income and
hence question 3 which was originally compulsory, is not compulsory anymore.
• Question 7, which had class intervals as options, was changed to an open-ended question
because the data requirement for analysis was raw numerical data.
• A new question about having a routine for exercising was added after question 7 (now
question 8 in the final questionnaire) because it was noticed that even though the total time
a person exercised for in a week would be known, the regularity with which a person
exercises would be unknown.
• The responses for question 8 in the pilot survey were very unique to every person, which
would be difficult to analyse. Hence it was changed to a Likert scale question which a
clearer understanding of the kind of information desired: how much do a certain select
factors motivate the person to exercise (question 9 in the final questionnaire).
• It was pointed out that running is essentially a cardio type of exercise, and hence it was
removed from the major types of exercises that the questions have been based upon. This
change pertained to question 9 and 10 of the pilot survey.
• Question 10 in the pilot survey was framed in a confusing manner, hence the language of
that was altered to be more respondent-friendly, and the ranking hierarchy was specified.
The following question (question 11 in the pilot survey) was not understood as a successive
question (which it was), hence that was specified
• The grammar of the 13th question in the pilot survey demanded a binary response, opposed
to the options that were actually provided, hence that was altered so as to not create
confusion.
• A question asking people about how aware they themselves were about benefits of
exercising was added (question 15 in the final questionnaire)
• Question 15 in the pilot survey was deleted as its purpose had already been fulfilled by the
Likert scale format of question 15 and 16 of the final questionnaire.
• The word physique was replaced by physical appearance as the meaning was confusing to
some respondents.
 STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

Age Gender

15% 24%

22% 48% 52%

21%
18%

16-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 56 and above Male Female

Fig. 1 Fig. 2

The respondents to the survey conducted on 200 people in Mumbai followed the distribution of
age as depicted in figure 1: maximum number of respondents were from the age group 16-25 (24%
respondents), and the least were from the age group 56 and above (15%). The ratio of male to
female respondents was almost equal to 1, where the number of male respondents was slightly
greater than the female respondents (refer to figure 2).
The data we received on the heights of the individuals was cleaned to produce it in a desired format
in order to convert it to the unit of metres from that of feet and inches (which existed in the
questionnaire due to its common use as a measure of height). Further, using feature engineering on
the data for height and weight of individuals, a variable BMI (Body-Mass Index) was created using
the formula.11 From this variable the respondents were classified into four main categories:
Underweight, Normal Weight, Overweight, and Obese.
The following figure 3 represents the classification. Majority (55%) of the respondents were
classified into normal weight. Males were shown to be classified into overweight and obese
categories more than women, however women were classified into underweight category of body
type more than men. Overall, more women than men had the healthy/normal weight body type.
This may be due to women being able to process oxygen naturally better than men during
exercising.12

Body Classification
60%
50%
% frequency

40% 30%
30%
11%
20%
10% 25%
19% 3%
5% 8%
0% 1%
Underweight Normal weight Overweight Obese
Male Female

Fig. 3
 Age

Gender 16-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 56 and above Gender Average

Female 21.1676 23.3408 24.7019 24.5975 24.7487 23.5284

Male 23.8976 24.9791 26.4352 26.5181 25.0788 25.3695

Age Average 22.5895 24.1209 25.6167 25.6645 24.9195 24.4857

Table 1: Average BMI for Age and Gender of respondents

On an average, male respondents had a higher BMI as compared to female respondents. Among
age groups, there is an increasing trend of BMI in males and females as age is increasing, except
in males it drops a little towards the end. The increase could signify a lack of fitness as one gets
older.13

Data was received on the form of exercises that people perform. It was categorised into forms that
are more well known for being done in order to achieve a certain goal such as endurance, strength,
flexibility or balance, such as Walking, Yoga, Cross-fit, Cardio, Calisthenics (bodyweight
training), and Weight Training (using external weights), as opposed to forms of exercises which
were done for the purpose of competition. However, competitive sports were not completely
excluded because they are, less than often, done for the sole purpose of exercising, such as Cycling
and Swimming.14

Walking, Yoga, and Cardio were the forms of exercises that have maximum frequency among the
respondents, in that particular order (refer to figure 4).
Others included responses like dance, squash, circuit training, cricket, and table tennis.

Preferred Forms of Exercise

Other
Walking
Swimming
Yoga
Cross fit
Cardio
Calisthenics (bodyweight training)
Cycling
Weight training (using external weights)

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160

Frequency

16-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 56 and above

Fig 4: Frequency of preferred forms of exercise

The following exercises had maximum and least frequency of occurrence among the following age
groups (refer to table 2):

Age Group Maximum Freq Minimum Freq

16-25 Cardio Swimming
26-35 Walking Swimming
36-45 Walking Cross-fit and Calisthenics
46-55 Walking Calisthenics
56 and above Walking Calisthenics
Table 2: Maximum and least frequency of occurrence among the following age

groups
Hence it is clear that walking has a fairly great frequency of performance in all age groups.
However, the younger age group 16-25 does cardio more. The frequency of Cardio has a near-
linear decline as age increases, which also applies to Calisthenics, Cycling, and Weight Training
(refer to figure 5).

Frequency of forms of exercise

35

30

25
Frequency

20

15

10

0
16-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 56 and above
Age Groups

Weight training (using external weights) Cycling

Calisthenics (bodyweight training) Cardio

Fig. 5

The frequency of other exercises such as Swimming, Walking, Yoga, and Cross-fit remain fairly
constant over the ages.

The respondents were also asked to rank the above exercises (Weight training, Cycling,
Calisthenics, Cardio, Cross-fit, Yoga, Swimming, Walking) in order of preference relative to each
other from 1 to 8, where 1: Most Preferred and 9: Least Preferred. A few chi-square tests for
independence of attributes were performed to see whether the ranking of each exercise was
independent of the age group the person belonged to, i.e. to see whether age and preference of a
form of exercise are related.
Relative Preferences Of Various Forms Of Exercise

1. Weight Training

Ho: The rank of preference of weight training is independent of the age group
H1: The rank of preference of weight training is not independent of the age group

Observed Rank for Weight Training

Age 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Total

16-25 9 7 4 2 4 2 5 15 48

26-35 8 5 2 4 3 4 3 13 42

36-45 4 5 2 2 6 5 3 9 36

46-55 12 2 3 2 5 2 1 18 45

56 & above 2 1 3 3 5 2 2 11 29

Total 35 20 14 13 23 15 14 66 200

Table 3

Expected Rank for Weight Training

Age 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

16-25 8.4 4.8 3.36 3.12 5.52 3.6 3.36 15.84

26-35 7.35 4.2 2.94 2.73 4.83 3.15 2.94 13.86

36-45 6.3 3.6 2.52 2.34 4.14 2.7 2.52 11.88

46-55 7.87 4.5 3.15 2.92 5.17 3.37 3.15 14.85

56 and above 5.07 2.9 2.03 1.88 3.33 2.17 2.03 9.57

P-Value 0.75302041
Table 4

For Weight Training exercises, the p-value turned out to be 0.75302041 (>0.05).
Hence, we accept the null hypothesis, Ho: the rank of preference of weight training is independent
of the age group, at 5% level of significance.

2. Cycling

Ho: The rank of preference of cycling is independent of the age group

H1: The rank of preference of cycling is not independent of the age group
 Observed Rank for Cycling

Age 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Total

16-25 4 8 12 7 4 6 6 1 48

26-35 3 7 8 7 4 3 8 2 42

36-45 3 7 3 6 2 7 4 4 36

46-55 0 10 9 4 5 7 8 2 45

56 and above 5 2 1 4 3 1 13 0 29

Total 15 34 33 28 18 24 39 9 200

Table 5

Expected Rank for Cycling

Age 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

16-25 3.6 8.16 7.92 6.72 4.32 5.76 9.36 2.16

26-35 3.15 7.14 6.93 5.88 3.78 5.04 8.19 1.89

36-45 2.7 6.12 5.94 5.04 3.24 4.32 7.02 1.62

46-55 3.37 7.65 7.42 6.3 4.05 5.4 8.77 2.02

56 and above 2.17 4.93 4.78 4.06 2.61 3.48 5.65 1.30

P-value 0.05252749
Table 6

For cycling, the p-value turned out to be 0.05252749 (>0.05).

Hence, we accept the null hypothesis, Ho: The rank of preference of cycling is independent of the
age group, at 5% level of significance.

3. Calisthenics
Ho: The rank of preference of calisthenics is independent of the age group
H1: The rank of preference of calisthenics is not independent of the age group

Observed Rank for Calisthenics

Age 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Total

16-25 10 3 3 4 2 9 11 6 48

26-35 3 5 7 1 3 8 8 7 42

36-45 1 3 9 1 5 8 4 5 36

46-55 0 2 7 8 2 6 15 5 45

56 and above 0 1 5 2 5 6 7 3 29

Total 14 14 31 16 17 37 45 26 200

Table 7
 Expected Rank for Calisthenics

Age 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

16-25 3.36 3.36 7.44 3.84 4.08 8.88 10.8 6.24

26-35 2.94 2.94 6.51 3.36 3.57 7.77 9.45 5.46

36-45 2.52 2.52 5.58 2.88 3.06 6.66 8.1 4.68

46-55 3.15 3.15 6.97 3.6 3.82 8.32 10.12 5.85

56 and above 2.03 2.03 4.49 2.32 2.46 5.36 6.52 3.77

P-value 0.01311165
2 Statistic 46.4336416
Cramer’s V 0.24091918
Table 8

For calisthenics, the p-value is 0.01311165 (< 0.05).

Hence, we reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternate hypothesis, H1: The rank of
preference of calisthenics is not independent on the age group, at 5% level of significance.
Cramer’s V Coefficient for the two attributes turned out to be 0.24091918, signifying a low
correlation between rank of preference and age.
Referring to figure 6, on a whole, it was noticed that as a person’s age increases, his preference for
Calisthenics decreases.

Calisthenics
80%
70%
60%
% FREQUENCY

50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
16-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 56 and above

Calisthenics 1,2,3,4 Calisthenics 5,6,7,8

Fig. 6

4. Cardio
Ho: the rank of preference of cardio is independent of the age group
H1: the rank of preference of cardio is not independent of the age group
 Observed Rank for Cardio

Age 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Total

16-25 7 3 8 11 4 9 2 4 48

26-35 3 6 4 12 7 7 3 0 42

36-45 4 0 9 16 3 2 2 0 36

46-55 2 2 11 9 11 6 3 1 45

56 and above 1 2 2 6 11 5 1 1 29

Total 17 13 34 54 36 29 11 6 200

Table 9

Expected Rank for Cardio

Age 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

16-25 4.08 3.12 8.16 12.96 8.64 6.96 2.64 1.44

26-35 3.57 2.73 7.14 11.34 7.56 6.09 2.31 1.26

36-45 3.06 2.34 6.12 9.72 6.48 5.22 1.98 1.08

46-55 3.82 2.92 7.65 12.15 8.1 6.52 2.47 1.35

56 and above 2.46 1.88 4.93 7.83 5.22 4.20 1.59 0.87

P-value 0.02308306
 Statistic
2 44.8056606
Cramer’s V 0.23665814
Table 10

For cardio, the P-value is 0.02308306 (< 0.05). Hence, we reject the null hypothesis and accept
the alternate hypothesis, H1: The rank of preference of cardio is not independent of the age group,
at 5% level of significance.
Cramer’s V Coefficient is 0.23665814, which means there is a low correlation between Rank of
Preference and Age for Cardio. As per figure 7, preference for cardio seems to increase at first,
peak at age 36-45, and then decrease.

Cardio
1

0.8
% FREQUENCY

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
16-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 56 and above

Cardio 1,2,3,4 Cardio 5,6,78

Fig. 7
 5. Cross Fit
Ho: the rank of preference of Cross Fit exercises is independent of the age group
H1: the rank of preference of Cross Fit exercises is not independent of the age group

Observed Rank for Cross-fit

Age 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Total

16-25 1 7 3 5 16 7 7 2 48

26-35 3 1 5 7 12 7 5 2 42

36-45 0 3 5 3 11 3 8 3 36

46-55 2 3 0 9 11 10 7 3 45

56 and above 1 2 3 6 3 6 1 7 29

Total 7 16 16 30 53 33 28 17 200

Table 11

Expected Rank for Cross-fit

Age 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

16-25 1.68 3.84 3.84 7.2 12.72 7.92 6.72 4.08

26-35 1.47 3.36 3.36 6.3 11.13 6.93 5.88 3.57

36-45 1.26 2.88 2.88 5.4 9.54 5.94 5.04 3.06

46-55 1.57 3.6 3.6 6.75 11.92 7.42 6.3 3.82

56 and above 1.01 2.32 2.32 4.35 7.68 4.78 4.06 2.46

p-Value 0.08835295
Table 12

For Cross Fit, the p-value is 0.08835295 (>0.05)

Hence, we accept the null hypothesis, Ho: The rank of preference of Cross Fit exercises is
independent of the age group, at 5% level of significance.

6. Yoga
Ho: the rank of preference of Yoga is independent of the age group
H1: the rank of preference of Yoga is not independent of the age group
 Observed Rank for Yoga

Age 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Total

16-25 8 6 10 4 4 8 1 7 48

26-35 12 6 2 2 5 5 6 4 42

36-45 8 6 3 2 6 6 3 2 36

46-55 7 12 10 1 3 6 2 4 45

56 and above 3 9 10 2 1 3 0 1 29

Total 38 39 35 11 19 28 12 18 200

Table 13

Expected Rank for Yoga

Age 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

16-25 9.12 9.36 8.4 2.64 4.56 6.72 2.88 4.32

26-35 7.98 8.19 7.35 2.31 3.99 5.88 2.52 3.78

36-45 6.84 7.02 6.3 1.98 3.42 5.04 2.16 3.24

46-55 8.55 8.775 7.875 2.475 4.275 6.3 2.7 4.05

56 and above 5.51 5.655 5.075 1.595 2.755 4.06 1.74 2.61

p-Value 0.09962558

Table 14

For Yoga, the p- value is 0.09962558 i.e. (>0.05).

Hence, we accept the null hypothesis, Ho: The rank of preference of Yoga is independent of the
age group, at 5% level of significance.

7. Swimming

Ho: The rank of preference of Swimming is independent of the age group

H1: the rank of preference of Swimming is not independent of the age group
 Observed Rank for Swimming

Age 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Total

16-25 4 5 3 7 9 5 8 7 48

26-35 0 3 8 5 5 4 8 9 42

36-45 1 5 3 4 3 0 11 9 36

46-55 2 10 4 5 6 4 7 7 45

56 and above 2 7 4 3 1 4 4 4 29

Total 9 30 22 24 24 17 38 36 200

Table 15

Expected Rank for Swimming

Age 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

16-25 2.16 7.2 5.28 5.76 5.76 4.08 9.12 8.64

26-35 1.89 6.3 4.62 5.04 5.04 3.57 7.98 7.56

36-45 1.62 5.4 3.96 4.32 4.32 3.06 6.84 6.48

46-55 2.025 6.75 4.95 5.4 5.4 3.825 8.55 8.1

56 and above 1.305 4.35 3.19 3.48 3.48 2.465 5.51 5.22

P-Value 0.4727
Table 16

For Swimming, the p- value is 0.4727 (>0.05). Hence, we accept the null hypothesis, Ho: the
rank of preference of Swimming is independent of the age group, at 5% level of significance.

8. Walking
Ho - the rank of preference of Walking is independent of the age group
H1- the rank of preference of Walking is not independent of the age group

Observed Rank of Walking

Age 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Total

16-25 5 9 5 8 5 2 8 6 48

26-35 10 9 6 4 3 4 1 5 42

36-45 15 7 2 2 0 5 1 4 36

46-55 20 4 1 7 2 4 2 5 45

56 and
15 5 1 3 0 2 1 2 29
above

Total 65 34 15 24 10 17 13 22 200

Table 17
 Expected Rank for Walking

Age 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

16-25 15.6 8.16 3.6 5.76 2.4 4.08 3.12 5.28

26-35 13.65 7.14 3.15 5.04 2.1 3.57 2.73 4.62

36-45 11.7 6.12 2.7 4.32 1.8 3.06 2.34 3.96

46-55 14.625 7.65 3.375 5.4 2.25 3.825 2.925 4.95

56 and above 9.425 4.93 2.175 3.48 1.45 2.465 1.885 3.19

P-Value 0.0221
 Statistic
2 45.0017378
Cramer’s V 0.94870162
Table 18

For Walking, the p- value is 0.0221 (< 0.05).

Hence, we reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternate hypothesis, H1: the rank of preference
of Walking is not independent of the age group, at 5% level of significance.
0.94870162 value of Craver’s V coefficient signifies a high association between rank of preference
and age for Walking.
From figure 8, it is clear that preference of walking as a form of exercise was preferred more among
the older age groups than the younger ones. The preference increased with age.

90%
Walking
80%

70%

60%
% FREQUENCY

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
16-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 56 and above

1,2,3,4 5,6,7,8

Fig. 8
 Preferred Exercise v/s Age & Goals

1. Weight Training

Fig. 9

As we can see in the graph above (figure 9), age groups 16-25 (88.89%), and 46-55 (50%) prefer
doing weight training the most to get an improved physique while the age groups 26-35 (50%), 36-
45(100%) and 56 and above (50%) prefer weight training to gain strength. An important point to
notice here is how the people belonging to the age group 56 and above equally prefer weight
training for both strength and endurance.

2. Calisthenics

Fig. 10
As it is clear from the graph (figure 10), Calisthenics is only preferred by the age groups 16-25
(90%), 26-35 (66.67%) and 36-45 (100%) and is mainly done to get an improved physique.
3. Cycling

Fig. 11

As it can be seen in the graph above (figure 11), different age groups prefer cycling to achieve
different goals. While the people belonging to the age group of 16-25 prefer it to get an improved
physique, the people belonging to the age group of 26-35 equally prefer cycling to gain strength,
endurance and to get an improved physique. People belonging to the age group of 36-45 mostly
prefer cycling to gain flexibility and those belonging to the age group of 56 and above prefer
cycling to gain strength.
4. Cross-fit

Fig. 12
As it can be seen in the graph above (figure 12), just like cycling, cross-fit is also preferred by
different age groups to achieve different goals. Its preferred to increase flexibility by the people
belonging to the age group 16-25, to get an improved physique by the people belonging to the age
groups 26-35 and 56 & above and is equally preferred to get an overall good health ( both physical
and mental) and endurance by the people belonging to the age group of 46-55.

5. Cardio

Fig. 13

As it can be seen in the graph above (figure 13), cardio is mainly preferred to get an improved
physique or to increase endurance. While the age groups 16-25, 26-35 prefer doing cardio to get
an improved physique, age groups 36-45 and 56 & above prefer cardio to increase their endurance.
The age group 46-55 prefers doing cardio for both improved physique and endurance equally.
 6. Swimming

Fig. 14

As it can be seen in the graph above (figure 14), swimming is mostly preferred to gain endurance.
However, the age groups 36-45 (100%) and 46-55 (50%) prefer it to increase flexibility and
strength respectively.

7. Walking

Fig. 15
As it can be seen in the graph above (figure 15), walking is also one of those exercises that are
preferred by different age groups in order to achieve different goals. While the age groups 16-25
(80%), 36-45 (26.67%) and 56 & above (46.67%) prefer walking to get an improved physique, the
people belonging to the age group 26-35 (50%) prefer walking to increase their flexibility. Those
belonging to the age group of 36-45 also prefer it to gain strength (26.67%) and people from the
age group 46-55 (30%) prefer walking to increase their endurance.

8. Yoga

Fig. 16

As we can see in the graph above (figure 16), people within the same age group prefer yoga in
order to achieve different goals. In the age group 16-25, there’s an equal percentage (25%) of
people who prefer doing yoga to gain Strength, Flexibility and Endurance. Those belonging to the
age group of 26-35 mostly prefer yoga to increase their flexibility (33.33%). People belonging to
the age group 36-45 mainly (37.50%) prefer practicing yoga to calm themselves. In the age group
46-55, there are an equal percentage of people (42.86%) who prefer doing yoga to gain strength
and to stay calm. Yoga is practiced by the age group 56 & above and is equally preferred (33.33%
each) to either gain strength, get an improved physique or to stay calm. Thus, we can also conclude
that yoga is mostly preferred by the people to either gain strength, increase flexibility, get an
improved physique or to stay calm.
Motivating Factors

Reasons for exercising are largely reflected by factors that motivate people to do so. Extrinsic
factors such as being informed about one’s peers’ exercising regimes, people passing comments on
your body, ads for exercising (like going to the gym, or purchasing) that pop up everywhere now
and then, social media influencers who people see working out and looking healthy, and how
medical reasons (like hypertension) can also push somebody to exercise, were considered.
Respondents rated these factors on a Likert Scale of 1 to 5, where 1: Not at all motivating, and 5:
Extremely motivating. These factors have been compared with the age group of the respondents to
see the different effects of age groups.

It can be seen that for most of the respondents, medical reasons and comments on their body were
major motivating factors. For ages 16 – 35, comments on their body seemed to be the main
motivating factor (refer to figure 17 & 18).

Motivation factors for Age Group 16-25

60%
48% 48%
50%
% frequency

40% 33% 33%

30%
21% 19%23%21% 21% 21%
20% 17%19% 19% 17% 15% 15%
19%
15%15%
19%
13% 10%
6% 8% 8%
10%

0%
Peers Exercising Comments on your Ads for exercising Influencers Medical reasons
body

1 2 3 4 5

Fig. 17

Motivation factors for Age Group 26-35

33%
35% 31%
29% 29%
30% 26% 26%
24% 24% 24%
% frequency

25% 21%21%21% 21%

19% 19%
20% 17% 17% 17% 17% 17%
14%
15%
10% 10%
10% 7% 7%
5%
0%
Peers Exercising Comments on your Ads for exercising Influencers Medical reasons
body

1 2 3 4 5

Fig. 18
Ages 36+ showed medical reasons to be the biggest motivation for exercising among all the factors
(refer to figure 19, 20 & 21).

Motivation factors for Age Group 36-45

47%
50% 44%
39%
40%
31%
28%28% 28% 28%
% frequency

30% 25%
22% 22%
19% 19% 19%
20% 17%
14% 14% 14%
11%
8% 8%
10% 6% 6%
3%
0%
0%
Peers Exercising Comments on your Ads for exercising Influencers Medical reasons
body

1 2 3 4 5

Fig. 19

As for the least motivating factors it can be seen that for the ages 16 – 25 & 36 – 55, ads for
exercising motivate them the least (refer to figures 17, 19 & 20). For the ages 26 – 35 & 56+, we
can see that influencers are the least motivating factor (refer to figures 18 & 21). For all the age
groups in general, ads for exercising and influencers didn’t motivate them as much as other factors.

Motivation factors for Age Group 46-55

60%
52%
50%
% frequency

40% 35%
30% 28% 28% 30%
30% 26% 24% 26%26% 24%
20% 22% 22%
20% 13% 13% 13% 15%
11%
10% 7% 4% 4% 4% 7% 4%
0%
Peers Exercising Comments on your Ads for exercising Influencers Medical reasons
body

1 2 3 4 5

Fig. 20

Comments on the body as a motivating factor show a decline as the age of the respondents
increases, with the age groups 16 – 35 being well affected by it, 36 – 55 being moderately affected
by it, and 56+ being the least affected.
Peers exercising had a constant effect throughout all the age groups, with the factor moderately
affecting all the respondents, regardless of age.

Motivation factors for Age Group 56 and above

60%
48%
50% 45%
41%
38%
40%
% frequency

34%
31% 31%
30% 28%
24%
21%21%
20% 17% 17% 17%
14% 14%
10% 10%
10% 7% 7% 7% 7% 7%
3%
0%
0%
Peers Exercising Comments on your Ads for exercising Influencers Medical reasons
body

1 2 3 4 5

Fig. 21

Place of Exercise
Where people exercise or the environment of exercising is a preference that is important for a
person to facilitate their purpose. Age groups were compared with where they exercise: at home
(indoors), at home (outdoors), at the gym, at the club, in parks/ running or cycling paths, at the
beach, or any other place to see whether age groups specifically differed in their preferences.

Fig. 22
In the graph above (figure 22), we’ve compared the places of exercises within each age group. As
we can see, most of the people belonging to age groups 16-25 (56.25%) and 26-35 (57.14%) clearly
prefer doing exercise at home (indoors), the people belonging to the age groups 36-45 and 46-55
prefer doing exercise at home(outdoors). Parks/ Running/ cycling paths are also a common choice
of preference especially for the people belonging to the age groups of 26-35 (14.29%) and 56 and
above (27.59%).

A chi-square test for independence of attributes was performed for age group and place of
exercise.
Ho: The preferred place of exercise is independent of the age group
H1: The preferred place of exercise is not independent of the age group.

Observed Age

Place of Exercise 16-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 56 and above Total

At home (indoors) 27 24 11 12 10 84

At home (outdoors) 15 6 11 13 4 49

Gym 5 5 7 10 4 31

Club 0 1 2 0 1 4

Parks/ Running or
1 6 5 9 8 29
cycling paths

Beach 0 0 0 1 2 3

Total 48 42 36 45 29 200

Table 19

Expected Age

56 and
Place of Exercise 16-25 26-35 36-45 46-55
above

At home (indoors) 20.16 17.64 15.12 18.9 12.18

At home (outdoors) 11.76 10.29 8.82 11.025 7.105

Gym 7.44 6.51 5.58 6.975 4.495

Club 0.96 0.84 0.72 0.9 0.58

Parks/ Running or cycling

6.96 6.09 5.22 6.525 4.205
paths

Beach 0.72 0.63 0.54 0.675 0.435

P-Value 0.00865898
 Statistic
2 38.0797529
Cramer’s V 0.21817353

Table 20
The p-value turned out to be 0.0086589(<0.05)
Hence, we reject the null hypothesis, and accept the alternate hypothesis, H1: The preferred place
of exercise is not independent of the age group, at 5% level of significance. Subsequently, Craver’s
V coefficient of association calculated to be 0.21817353, which signifies low association between
the two.

Ease of Access to places of exercise

Respondents were asked whether they have easy access to gyms, parks/open space, running/cycling
paths, and swimming pools. The number of times the respondents said they had access to these
places has been represented in figure 23 in form of percentages. Thus, respondents had access to
parks/open space and gyms more often than running/cycling paths and swimming pools.

Places that are easy to access

14%
30%

23%

33%

Gyms Parks/ Open Space Running/Cycling Path Swimming Pools

Fig. 23

These places were then compared with where the people actually exercise.

Places people have easy access to, & the places they actually
exercise
% frequency of places where people exercise

60%
48%
50% 44%
38% 36%
40% 35%
32% 30% 28%
30% 26%
20% 22% 21%
20%
10% 10%
7% 8%
10% 3% 3%
2% 0% 0% 2% 0% 0%
0%
Gyms Parks/ Open Space Running/Cycling Path Swimming Pools
Places people have easy access to

At home (indoors) At home (outdoors) Gym Club Parks/ Running or cycling paths Beach

Fig. 24
Thus, of the people that have easy access to the gym, only 35% of them actually go to the gym. For
those with good access to parks/ open spaces, 32% exercise at home (outdoors), 22% go to parks,
and 3% go to the beach. Of the ones that can access running/cycling paths, only 10% actually use
them. As for swimming pools, 44% of people with easy access to them might actually be using
them in their gyms or clubs. (refer to figure 24)

A chi-square test was performed to see whether there existed independence between the
places that people have easy access to and their most preferred form of exercise.
Ho: The most preferred form of exercise is independent of the places that people have easy access
to.
H1: The most preferred form of exercise is not independent of the places that people have easy
access to.

Observed Forms of Exercise

Weight
Places Cycling Calisthenics Cardio Cross-fit Yoga Swimming Walking Total
training

Gyms 21 2 12 11 4 10 4 27 91

Parks/ Open
20 15 9 16 5 29 8 51 153
Space

Running/Cycling
17 9 6 10 5 11 3 17 78
Path

Swimming Pools 11 5 4 6 3 3 5 6 43

Total 69 31 31 43 17 53 20 101 365

Table 21

Expected Forms of Exercise

Weight
Places Cycling Calisthenics Cardio Cross-fit Yoga Swimming Walking
training

Gyms 17.203 7.729 7.729 10.721 4.238 13.214 4.986 25.181

Parks/ Open
28.923 12.994 12.994 18.025 7.126 22.216 8.383 42.337
Space

Running/Cycling
14.745 6.625 6.625 9.189 3.633 11.326 4.274 21.583
Path

Swimming Pools 8.129 3.652 3.652 5.066 2.003 6.244 2.356 11.898

P-value 0.08091753

Table 22

Since p-value is 0.08091753 (< 0.05), we accept our null hypothesis at 5% level of significance.
Thus, the most preferred form of exercise is independent of the places that people have easy access
to.
Mode of Instruction for Exercise
The respondents were asked their preferred mode of instruction for physical exercises and then we
did an age-wise comparison for the same. As it can be seen in the graph above, all the age groups
prefer self-training the most and mobile apps the least as a mode of instruction for physical
exercises. However, in the age group 26-35, there’s not much difference between the number of
people who prefer Self- training and those who prefer having a personal trainer.

Fig. 25

Number of Hours People Exercise

In table 23, One-Way ANOVA has been carried out to check if there’s a significant difference
between the different age groups in terms of the number of hours they exercise in a week.
H0: There is no significant difference between the age groups i.e. u1=u2=u3=u4=u5
H1: There is a significant difference between the different age groups i.e. u1≠u2≠u3≠u4≠u5

DATA SUMMARY
Age Groups Count Sum Average Variance
16-25 48 291.5 6.0729 9.9573
26-35 42 222.5 5.2976 15.7202
36-45 36 196 5.4444 7.4539
46-55 45 214.5 4.7666 8.1091
56 & above 29 165.5 5.7069 8.5628
Table 23
 ANOVA
Source of Variation SS df MS F P-value F crit
Between Groups 42.5279 4 10.6319 1.0524 0.3814 2.4179
Within Groups 1969.972 195 10.1024

Total 2012.5 199

Table 24

Conclusion: Since Fcal < Fcrit (table 24), we accept H0 at 5% level of significance. Thus, there is
no significant difference between the different age groups when it comes to the number of hours
they exercise.

In table 25, One-Way ANOVA has been used to check if there’s a significant difference between
the different body types in terms of the number of hours a person exercise in a week.
H0: There is no significant difference between the body types i.e. u1=u2=u3=u4
H1: There is a significant difference between the different body types i.e. u1≠u2≠u3≠u4

DATA SUMMARY
Groups Count Sum Average Variance
Underweight 11 54 4.9091 10.0909
Normal-weight 109 613.5 5.6284 8.7657
Overweight 58 301.5 5.1983 8.6836
Obese 22 121 5.5 21.8809

Table 25

ANOVA
Source of Variation SS df MS F P-value F crit
Between Groups 10.41925 3 3.4731 0.3401 0.7964 2.6507
Within Groups 2002.081 196 10.2147

Total 2012.5 199

Table 26

Conclusion: Since Fcal < Fcrit (table 26), we accept H0 at 5% level of significance. Thus, there is
no significant difference between the different body types when it comes to the number of hours
they exercise.
Effects Of Having A Regular Or Irregular Routine
Respondents were asked whether they have a regular exercising routine and it was found that 65%
of the respondents have a regular exercise routine and 35% have an irregular exercise routine.

Routine of Exercising

35%

65%

Regular Irregular

Fig. 25

In table 27, One-Way ANOVA has been used to check if there’s a significant difference in the
effect of having a routine on the number of hours people exercise in a week.
H0: There is no significant difference between having a regular and irregular routine i.e. u1=u2
H1: There is a significant difference between having a regular and irregular routine i.e. u1≠u2

DATA SUMMARY
Groups Count Sum Average Variance
Irregular Routine 70 295.5 4.22142857 10.6785197
Regular Routine 130 794.5 6.11153846 8.6289356

Table 27

ANOVA
Source of Variation SS df MS F P-value F crit
Between Groups 162.5494 1 162.5494 17.3976 4.5341 3.8888
Within Groups 1849.9505 198 9.3431

Total 2012.5 199

Table 28

Since Fcal > Fcrit (table 28), we reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternate hypothesis at
5% level of significance. Hence, there is a significant difference between having a regular and
irregular routine on the number of hours people exercise in a week.
Stress Levels post Exercise
A chi-square test of independence was conducted to check independence of stress levels after
exercising with having a regular or irregular routine.

Ho: Stress levels after exercise are independent of having a regular routine or irregular routine
H1: Stress levels after exercise are not independent of having a regular or irregular routine

Observed Stress Level After Exercising

Regular Routine Much lower Lower About the same Higher Much higher Total
Yes 48 60 17 5 0 130
No 13 37 12 6 2 70
Total 61 97 29 11 2 200

Table 29

Expected Stress Level After Exercising

Regular Routine Much lower Lower About the same Higher Much higher
Yes 39.65 63.05 18.85 7.15 1.3
No 21.35 33.95 10.15 3.85 0.7
P-value 0.021248
Table 30

The p-value turned out to be 0.0212 (< 0.05). Hence, we reject the null hypothesis and accept the
alternate hypothesis at 5% level of significance. Thus, stress levels after exercise are not
independent of having a regular or irregular routine.
In the figures 26 & 27 age has also been taken into consideration along with stress and regularity
of the exercise routine.

Stress level after exercise in a regular routine

100%
88% 88%
% frequency of levels of stress
90% 84% 85%
80%
68%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30% 23%
20% 15%
10% 12% 9%
6% 8%
10% 4%
0% 0%
0%
16-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 56 & above

Higher Lower Same

Fig. 26

It is clear from figure 26 & 27 that the frequency of “higher stress level after exercise” has increased
with having an irregular routine as compared to having a regular one. This increase was noticed to
be of a greater magnitude in the age groups of 36-45 and 46-55 as compared to that of age groups
16-25 and 26-35. However, for the age group of 56 and above, the “higher stress level after
exercise” decreased and lower stress levels after exercise increased while comparing that of an
irregular routine to a regular one.

Stress level after exercise in an irregular routine

80% 75% 75%
71% 71%
% frequency of levels of stress

70%
60%
60%
50%
40%
29%
30%
18% 19% 20% 20%
20% 15%
12% 10%
10% 6%
0%
0%
16-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 56 & above

Higher Lower Same

Fig. 27
Awareness of Benefits of Physical Exercise
The respondents were asked how aware they thought they were about the benefits of physical
exercises on a scale of 1 to 5 where 1: Not at all aware and 5: Highly aware. A majority of 56% of
the respondents said they thought they were highly aware of the benefits (refer to figure 28).

Awareness of Benefits of Exercise

60% 56%

50%

40%
% frequency

30%
30%

20%
13%
10%
2% 1%
0%
1 2 3 4 5

Fig. 28

The following figure 29 shows how long respondents have been exercising for.

Time for which people have been exercising

16%
34%
16%
10%
17% 7%

Less than a month 1 to 3 months 3 to 6 months

6 to 12 months 1 to 3 years More than 3 years

Fig. 29

This period of exercising was then compared to the level of awareness of benefits of exercising.
Of the people who have been exercising for 6 to 12 months, 73% claimed to be aware on a scale of
5 (highly aware), followed by people who exercised for more than 3 years, of which 68% claimed
to be highly aware. Even of people who have been exercising for less than a month, 53% said their
awareness was high. This means that the amount of time that people have been exercising since is
not related to their awareness, which can also imply for the people that have not been exercising
for a long time, they did so in spite of being aware of the benefits of physical exercising. (refer to
figure 30)
 Awareness level with longetivity of time since exercising

% of people in every category of

80% 73%
68%
60% 53% 50% 48%
41%
34% 35% 36%
40%
25% 25%
time
22%
19% 20%
20% 15%
6% 10% 7%
5% 1%1%4%
0% 0%0% 0% 0%0% 0%0%
0%
Less than a 1 to 3 months 3 to 6 months 6 to 12 months 1 to 3 years More than 3
month years

1 2 3 4 5

Fig. 30

Respondents were also asked how aware they thought people surrounding them were about the
benefits of physical exercise, on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1: Not at all aware and 5: Highly aware.
The frequency has been represented in figure 31, where 38% respondents said the people around
them were aware at a level of 3 from a scale of 1 to 5. Comparing graphs in figure 30 & 31, we can
see that if people claim a high level of awareness, they claim a low level of awareness for people
around them, and if they claim a low level of awareness, they claim a high level of awareness for
people around them.

Awareness of Benefits of Exercise of peers and

surrounding people
40% 38%

35%

30%
26%
% frequency

25% 22%
20%

15% 12%
10%

5% 2%
0%
1 2 3 4 5

Fig. 31

In figure 32, the level of awareness of people (about benefits of exercising) around the respondents
was compared with how motivated respondents were by their peers exercising (on a scale of 1 to 5
where 1: Not at all motivating and 5: Extremely motivating). For respondents who considered that
people around them were not at all aware of the benefits of exercising, 75% of them were not at all
motivated by peers exercising. 14% of people that were highly aware were extremely motivated by
peers exercising around them, however 41% were also not motivated by peers exercising.
These numbers vary with no particular trend and hence we can conclude that respondents’
motivation by peers exercising does not depend on how aware the respondents believe their peers
are.

AWA RE N ESS O F SURRO UN D I N G PEO PLE V/S

% OF FREQUENCY AT EACH LEVEL OF

75%
MOT I VAT I O N BY PE E RS E XE RCI SI NG
AWARENESS

41%
33%
31%
30%
25%

25%

25%

22%
21%
21%

20%
20%
17%
17%

15%

14%
13%
13%

9%

8%

5%
0%

0%
0%

1 2 3 4 5
AWARENESS OF PEOPLE AROUND

1 2 3 4 5 MOTIVATION BY PEERS EXERCISING

Fig. 32

Self-consciousness about physical appearance

On a scale of 1 to 5, where 1: Not at all conscious and 5: Extremely conscious, the following figure
1 and 2 represent how self-conscious respondents were about their physical appearance, segregated
by age and gender respectively.
According to figure 33, body consciousness first increased from ages 16-25 to 36-45, and then
decreased for the following age groups. As for gender differences in self-consciousness about
physical appearance, males and females seem to be equally conscious as their numbers are fairly
evenly distributed across 1 to 5 (refer to figure 34).

BODY CONSCIOUNESS AMONG AGE

GROUPS
1 2 3 4 5
% FREQUENCY OF LEVELS OF
CONSCIOUSNESS AMONG

53%
52%
44%

33%
28%

28%
27%

27%

24%
24%
24%

22%
21%

17%
17%

16%
14%
7%

7%
6%

3%
2%

2%
2%

0%

16-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 56 AND ABOVE

AGE GROUPS

Fig. 33
 BODY CONCIOUNESS AMONG
GENDERS
Male Female

37%
34%

33%
% FREQUENCY

26%
24%

19%
11%
10%
4%

2%
1 2 3 4 5
LEVELS OF BODY CONSCIOUSNESS

Fig. 34

Of the 200 responses, 33% said they want to achieve an ‘Improved Physique’ as a goal by doing
physical exercise. Of these 33%, 44% (majority) said that they were conscious of their body at a
scale of 5 (extremely conscious). This implies that for people who wanted an Improved Physique,
body consciousness was a driving factor to exercise. (refer to figure 35)

Body Consciousness of those with "Improved

Physique" as their goal
50%
44%
45%
40%
35%
30% 27%
% FREQUENCY

25% 21%
20%
15%
10%
3% 5%
5%
0%
1 2 3 4 5

Fig. 35

Body Conciousness v/s Body class

% FREQUENCY OF LEVELS OF BODY

60% 55%
50%
41%
38%
CONSCIOUSNESS

40% 36%
33% 32%
27% 25%
30% 24%
18% 20% 18%
20% 14%
9%
10% 4% 3% 3%
0% 0% 0%
0%
Underweight Normal weight Overweight Obese

1 2 3 4 5

Fig. 36
As for people with different body types, it is visible that people who are underweight or obese are
more conscious than those who are normal weight and overweight (refer to figure 36).
It is also noticeable that the number of hours exercised by people is cluttered around the lower
numbers (below 8 hours a week) for people who are body conscious on a scale of 1 to 3 (refer to
figure 37). However, the number of hours exercises becomes evenly distributed between 1 to 14
hours of exercise in a week as people become more conscious (on a scale of 4 to 5).

Level of consciousness v/s No. of Hours Exercised

for, in a week
16
No. of Hours exercised in a week

14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Level of self-consciousness for physical appearance

Fig. 37
 SUMMARY
According to WHO, physical inactivity is known as the fourth leading risk factor for world
mortality (6% of deaths globally). Overweight and obesity are responsible for 5% of global
mortality. Levels of physical inactivity are increasing in many countries with major implications
for the overall fitness of the people worldwide and for the prevalence of NCDs such as
cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer, and their hazardous elements such as raised blood
pressure, increased blood sugar, and obesity.
There are pieces of evidence to prove that participation in regular exercise routine reduces the risk
of coronary heart disease and stroke, diabetes, hypertension, colon cancer, breast cancer, and
depression. Moreover, exercising is a key determinant of energy expenditure, and thus is
fundamental to energy balance and weight control.
Interventions to promote physical exercises have had restricted success. One reason may be that
physically inactive adults are unaware that their level of physical activity is insufficient and do not
consider a need to change their behaviour. We thus aimed to assess knowledge and awareness and
study the association between different age groups and their preferences when it comes to physical
exercises.
The survey provided constructive results and helped to analyse the data and achieve the objectives
in doing so. 200 responses were received in which maximum of them were from the age group 16
to 25 (24%) while the least were from the age group 56 and above (15%).
On analysing the relationship between age and preference of physical exercises amongst
people, we found that walking had a fairly greater frequency of performance amongst all age
groups while the frequency of exercises like swimming, yoga and cross fit remained fairly constant.
By asking the respondents of the survey to rank the exercise in their order of preference, we found
that the rank of preference for exercises like weight training, cycling, cross fit, swimming and yoga
proved to be independent of the age group while calisthenics, walking and cardio exercises were
dependent on the age group, with an association of 24%, 95%, and 24% respectively. As for
preference for place of exercise, majority preferred exercising indoors at home. The preferred place
of exercise is not independent of the age group. They had an association of 22%. The exercise
people performed proved to be independent of the places that people have easy access to such as
parks, gyms and open spaces. Delivery (mode) of instruction of these exercises is also an important
factor to analyse as to how people who preferred a particular exercise actually performed them. On
collecting and analysing the data results indicated that the people of across all age groups preferred
self training the most and mobile apps the least as a mode of instruction for physical exercises.
One-Way ANOVA had been carried out to check if there’s a significant difference between the
different age groups in terms of the number of hours they exercise in a week. On interpretation of
the results, the test showed that there is no significant difference between the different age groups
when it comes to the number of hours they exercise.
Also, along with analysing the preference of physical exercises amongst people of various age
groups, we also tried to gain a deeper insight into the reasons as to why they perform physical
exercises and their respective goals. People from different age groups preferred performing the
same exercise for different reasons for example people who prefer doing weight training of age
groups 16 to 25 (88.9%) and 46 to 55 (50%) did so to get an improved physique while people of
the remaining age groups preferred performing the same exercise for both strength and endurance.
Calisthenics was mainly done for an improved physique (90% for ages 16-25 and 100% for ages
36-45) . In another exercise such as yoga people within the same age group preferred yoga in order
to achieve different goals. For people who wanted an Improved Physique, consciousness about
their physical appearance was a driving factor to exercise. The frequency of people exercising for
longer hours increased with increase in consciousness about physical appearance.
Reasons for exercising were largely reflected by factors that motivate people to do so. Extrinsic
factors such as being informed about one’s peers’ exercising regimes, people passing comments on
your body, ads for exercising (like going to the gym, or purchasing) that pop up everywhere now
and then, social media influencers who people see working out and looking healthy, and how
medical reasons (like hypertension) can also push somebody to exercise, were considered. For most
of the respondents, medical reasons and comments on their body were major motivating factors.
The respondents were also asked how aware they thought they were about the benefits of physical
exercises. A majority of 34% had been exercising for 3 years. The amount of time that people have
been exercising was found to be unrelated to their awareness of the benefits. This can also imply
that even some of the people who were aware of the benefits of physical exercises didn’t start
exercising until recently. The respondents were also asked how much they themselves thought
people surrounding them were aware about the benefits of physical exercise. 38% respondents said
people were moderately aware. Results showed that if people thought they themselves had a high
level of awareness, they claimed a low level of awareness for people around them, and vice versa.
Respondents’ motivation to exercise by their peers exercising does not depend on how aware the
respondents believe their peers are. The importance of exercising was emphasized by the finding
that stress levels after exercise were not independent of having a regular or irregular routine of
exercising. Stress levels after exercising for a person with regular routine were certainly lower than
those of a person having an irregular routine. One-Way ANOVA had been carried out to check if
there’s a significant difference between the different body classes (Underweight, Normal weight,
Overweight, and Obese) in terms of the number of hours they exercise in a week. On interpretation
of the results, the test showed that there is no significant difference between the body types when
it comes to the number of hours they exercise.
LIMITATIONS

1. As a pilot survey, the sample size is limited. A larger sample size and increased diversity
in study site and data collection methodology are necessary in future large-scale studies.
2. The study is restricted only to Mumbai. Hence the results can’t be generalized for the whole
world.
3. The time factor in collecting responses could have been a limiting factor.
4. Probing height and weight through self-reporting may have introduced misclassification
error as height tends to be over-reported and weight is typically under-reported in any study
population. This misclassification error would affect BMI calculations. This limitation can
be avoided by measuring height and weight on site
5. The survey was conducted during the 2020 pandemic situation and hence the collection of
responses was restricted to the online format. In some cases, the survey was even filled
hurriedly. This might have affected the accuracy of data to some extent.
6. The findings are based on the responses of the respondents. So, any bias or error may affect
the validity of the findings

SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE STUDIES

If the data provided through our survey is used for future reference, in the form of secondary data,
we would recommend them to collect some additional quantitative data that will assist them in
doing a detailed age-wise analysis. Along with this, a comparatively larger sample size will also
increase the percent of responses per age group, making it easier to analyse the responses to draw
inferences. In our analyses, we have focused only on physical exercises but one could also take
into consideration various other physical activities
 Questionnaire
Group 5: Final Questionnaire No.

Awareness and preferences of physical exercises among various age groups

Tick only one option unless specified. All questions marked * are compulsory.

1. Age (in completed years) *

• 16-25
• 26-35
• 36-45
• 46-55
• 56 and above

2. Gender*
• Male
• Female
• Other

3. Annual family/ self-income (in rupees)

• Less than 1 lakh
• 1 lakh - less than 5 lakhs
• 5 lakhs- less than 10 lakhs
• 10 lakhs or more

4. What is your height (in feet and inches)? Please use numbers only in (6’3’’) format. *
______

5. What is your weight (in kg)? Please use numbers only. *

______

6. How long has it been since you started exercising? *

• Less than a month
• 1 to 3 months
• 3 to 6 months
• 6 to 12 months
• 1 to 3 years
• More than 3 years
7. How many hours in a week do you exercise? Please use numbers only*
______

8. Do you have a regular exercise routine? *

• Yes
• No
9. On a scale of 1 to 5, how much do the following factors motivate you to exercise? (where 1: Not at
all motivating & 5: Extremely motivating) *

1 2 3 4 5

Peers exercising

Comments about your body from others

around you
Ads for gyms and exercising apps

Influencers on Instagram, Twitter, and

such social media platforms
Medical reasons

10. Which form(s) of exercise do you practice? (tick all that apply) *
• Weight training (using external weights)
• Cycling
• Calisthenics (bodyweight training)
• Cardio
• Cross fit
• Yoga
• Swimming
• Walking
• Other:_______________(please specify)
11. Please give a rank to the following exercises in order of preference. (Where 1st rank is given to
most preferred exercise, and 8th rank is given to the least preferred exercise). *

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Weight training
Cycling
Calisthenics
Cardio
Cross fit
Yoga
Swimming
Walking

12. What main goal do you wish to achieve by doing the exercise you ranked as 1 st in the above
question? *
• Strength
• Flexibility
• Endurance
• Improved physique
• Calmness
• Other: (please specify)
13. Where do you usually exercise? *
• At home (indoors)
• At home (outdoors)
• Gym
• Club
• Parks/ Running or cycling paths
• Beach
• Other: _______________ (please specify)

14. Which of the following do you have easy access to? (Tick all that apply)*
• Gyms
• Parks/ Open Space
• Running/Cycling Path
• Swimming Pools

15. How aware do you think you are about the benefits of physical exercises on a scale of 1 to 5? Please
tick. (where 1: Not at all aware, 5: Highly aware) *

1 2 3 4 5

16. How aware do you think people around you are about the benefits of physical exercises on a scale of
1 to 5? Please tick. (where 1: Not at all aware, 5: Highly aware) *

1 2 3 4 5

17. How conscious are you about your physical appearance on a scale of 1 to 5? Please tick.
(where 1: Not conscious at all& 5: Extremely conscious) *

1 2 3 4 5

18. What is your stress level after physical exercise compared to it normally? *
• Much Lower
• Lower
• About the Same
• Higher
• Much Higher
19. Which mode of instruction do you prefer in your exercise? *
• Personal trainer
• Mobile apps
• Online videos
• Self-training
• Other:____________ (please specify)

Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey. We truly value the information you have
provided. Your responses will contribute to our analysis of the texts and suggest new lines of
approach to the corpus data.
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