North Van residents most physically active: Ipsos Reid poll

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – How often do you fit exercise into your life? There’s a new study which looks at which community in Metro Vancouver has the most number of physically active people.

About 3,600 people in the Lower Mainland were surveyed in the Fitness Town study commissioned by Ipsos Reid. Dai Manuel with the fitness retailer says cities surrounded by the outdoors tend to do better. “We found that North Vancouver had the most active participants with just over 50 per cent saying that they participate in fitness on a regular basis,” he says.

When it comes to the least active, he says that title goes to Langley, with less than 30 per cent of folks there saying they exercise, and it may be linked to lifestyle. “When you do look at Langley, it is rural, but you end up driving everywhere there, so you’re less active and you’re not walking as much. Whereas people in Vancouver and North Vancouver, they tend to do a lot of activities outdoors,” he explains.

But he does point out 40 per cent of Langley respondents think about fitness a lot but find it hard to follow through. “They define themselves [and their mind states] as “back burner.” They often think about participating in some sort of physical activity but haven’t done so for a long time.”

More than half of all people surveyed say it would be helpful to have access to education related to fitness and nutrition, “whether it be online or offline, and even guidance for the types of purchases to make like a gym membership or equipment.”