New Zealand – a nation of sport and exercise lovers reveals survey

New Zealanders would rather kick about a rugby ball or work up a sweat at the gym than whip up a Pavlova or indulge in a spot of fishing, according to a recent survey on what Kiwis love doing commissioned by Vodafone.

Playing and watching sport (10%), and exercising (3%) rated number two and 10 respectively in the survey conducted by Nielsen, surpassing traditional Kiwi pastimes such as cooking and baking (2%), fishing and hunting (2%), and gardening (2%).
Aaron Beckman, General Manager of Consumer Marketing at Vodafone, says the research findings highlight the get up and go attitude of New Zealanders.
“Kiwis are known for being energetic, active and making the most of life – and it’s great to see this represented through sport and exercise appearing in the top 10 things New Zealanders love to do the most.
“Vodafone is passionate about using technology to help New Zealanders do their thing better, so we’ve created a portal of smartphone apps and web links for sport and exercise lovers available online at www.vodafone.co.nz.”
Otago and Southland are home to the biggest sporting fans, with 16.3% of residents selecting sport as their favourite thing to do.
Kiwi males (13.8%) were twice as likely to choose sport as their female counterparts (6.5%). Exercising rated fairly evenly with both genders; 2.7% of men and 2.5% of women selected exercise as their favourite thing to do.
Sport was most popular with teenagers aged between 15 – 19 years old (15.2%), while exercise rated highly with the 45 – 54 year old age group (4.4%).
The Vodafone “What Kiwis Love” research was independently conducted by Nielsen with results compiled from an online survey of over 1,500 New Zealanders aged 15+ in July 2012.