Percentage of Australian adults not participating in physical activity by age and gender

The bar chart illustrates the proportion of Australian adults who engage in no physical activity, categorised by age group and gender. Overall, it is evident that inactivity levels tend to rise as individuals get older, although there are notable fluctuations, particularly among males.

For the younger age groups, inactivity is relatively low. Among those aged 15-24, 14% of males and 18% of females report no physical activity. These figures rise steadily to 27% for both genders in the 35-44 age bracket. Interestingly, the trend diverges thereafter; male inactivity peaks at 43% in the 55-64 age group, whereas female inactivity reaches 37% in the same category.

In the 65-74 age group, there is a marked decline in inactivity for males to 27%, while female inactivity rises slightly to 30%. However, the most significant disparity occurs in the 75+ category. While male inactivity returns to 43%, the figure for females surges to 56%, representing the highest level of inactivity recorded across all groups. Conversely, the 45-54 age group shows a higher proportion of inactive males (31%) compared to females (25%), highlighting the inconsistent nature of inactivity trends between the sexes.