Couch potatoes
Are men or women more likely to be sedentary? According to the CDC (2005), Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) for 2004, 25.9% of women vs. 21.4% of men reported no physical activity outside their "regular job." Caspersen et al (2000) found that gaps in physical activity were greater between adolescent males and females than between adult males and females, but that males consistently reported activity more often. Martínez-González et al (1999) found that women in the European Union spent less leisure time sitting than males (at 22 vs. 23 hours per week, median, n = 15,239). Lulwa Shaloub (2007), in an article for Arab News, notes that women in Saudi Arabia tend to lead sedentary lives, but still outlive their male counterparts by an average of two years. Cardiologist Bill Choi in Barbara Abel's interview for Healthlink (2005) suggests that women are "more receptive" to adding aerobic exercise to their lifestyle, and do more housework, burning more calories.
For a writing class a couple of years ago, I had to administer a survey to 10 people which asked about their physical activity. One of the women I surveyed was highly reluctant to participate, and later she told me that she hated these surveys because admitting how little she exercised was very embarrassing for her. It reminded me a lot of my response to Myers-Briggs personality questions, because I always feel like there's an obvious "right" answer, and it's not my honest one (I'm quirky about MBTI questions). My own leisure time is embarrassingly sedentary. I never played sports voluntarily as a kid, and even now, I have to be bribed and cajoled into physical activity, unless you count playing Wii.
For a writing class a couple of years ago, I had to administer a survey to 10 people which asked about their physical activity. One of the women I surveyed was highly reluctant to participate, and later she told me that she hated these surveys because admitting how little she exercised was very embarrassing for her. It reminded me a lot of my response to Myers-Briggs personality questions, because I always feel like there's an obvious "right" answer, and it's not my honest one (I'm quirky about MBTI questions). My own leisure time is embarrassingly sedentary. I never played sports voluntarily as a kid, and even now, I have to be bribed and cajoled into physical activity, unless you count playing Wii.