KEY POINTS:
Fewer than half of New Zealand adults take the recommended amount of exercise each week, despite a yearly spend of more than $900 million on sport and recreation.
A Sport and Recreation Active New Zealand survey to be released today shows 48.2 per cent of Kiwis over 16 get 30 minutes' moderate physical activity, at least five days a week.
A further 39.1 per cent manage just 30 minutes a week, while nearly half a million adults - 12.7 per cent - admit to being inactive, or getting less than 30 minutes' over seven days.
Those figures show little change on a 2001 survey, despite a near 60-per cent increase in sport and recreation funding in the past decade.
The survey shows declining numbers in those participating in at least one sport or recreation activity a year (95.8 per cent, down from 97.9 per cent) and those volunteering for a sport or recreation activity (24.9 per cent from 27.3 per cent.).
Sparc estimates a total of at least $900 million is spent each year on pushing the sports and recreation message. Though 2001 figures are not available, central government, lotteries and gaming and local government provided $570 million in funding in 1999.
Sparc communications manager John Tulloch said some $650m in local authority funding currently went into the national sport and recreation spend, with a further $150m and $100m coming from gaming and lotteries and central government coffers.
The latest survey - which collected data from 4443 participants - recorded various physical activities "irrespective of the intensity or duration of the activity undertaken" over a year, month or week.
Sparc says the survey shows "no fall off in overall participation levels" since the previous investigation.
But nor does it show any increase in levels of physical activity, despite years of warnings about obesity, the rise of obesity-related disorders and Push Play initiatives.
The 2001 report - conducted by the Hillary Commission, but later collated by Sparc - used a different methodology, and did not allow for exercise gained through work-related activity.
Sparc research manager Grant McLean yesterday said the lack of change since 2001 needed to be looked at in a "broader environmental context", including the rise of the internet and sedentary, web-based activities such as Facebook. Longer work hours had also had an impact on peoples' free time, he said.
However, he believed the fact exercise figures had not dropped since 2001 showed people appreciated the need to keep active.
"If people are protecting their sport and recreation time, that's great."
The Health Ministry said the report showed of the 48.2 per cent of adults who met the 30 x 5 guidelines, 33.1 per cent achieved them through work activity and a further 7.9 per cent getting to work.
Manukau-based diabetes specialist Brandon Orr-Walker said while the figures showed the population was "holding our head above water", there was still "a long way to go".
And while it appeared those who understood the need to exercise were keeping fit, others were missing out. The fact there had been a lot of money spent on the fitness message suggested there could be a need to modify it.
The 10 most popular activities participated in over a year:
Men:
Walking 52.3 per cent
Gardening 37.3 per cent
Swimming 33.4 per cent
Fishing 29.8
Cycling 28 per cent
Equipment-based exercise 26 per cent
Golf 20.1 per cent
Jogging/running 19.3 per cent
Cricket 11.7 per cent
Football 10.7 per cent
Women:
Walking 75.1 per cent
Gardening 48.7 per cent
Swimming 36.1 per cent
Equipment-based exercise 27 per cent
Dance 22.6 per cent
Cycling 17.8 per cent
Jogging/running 15.8 per cent
Pilates/yoga 14.6 per cent
Aerobics 12.9 per cent
Netball 9.9 per cent
