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Talking or acting? Gender differences in physical activity participation in Israel at the threshold of the 21st century

Abstract Lack of physical activity is an important factor that leads to poor health, mortality, and high costs of medical treatment in the Western world. Advances in technology in the past couple of decades have made lifestyles more passive, and have thus affected the population’s health. Although the number of Israelis declaring that they participate regularly in physical activity is rising, this number is still lower than in the Western world. The aim of this research is to map the adult Jewish population according to participation in physical activity and attitudes towards physical activity and sport. Data were collected as part of the International Social Survey Program (ISSP) in 2007 via face-to-face interviews. In the current sample of participants aged 18 years old and above, 1032 interviewees were divided into groups by cluster analysis. Findings suggest that we cannot refer to the population as a whole, but rather as four different types: a) athlete at heart – pro-sport as well as physically active; b) anti-sport – holds a negative attitude towards sport and is not physically active; c) armchair sportsperson – holds a positive attitude towards sport, but is not physically active; and d) trendy sportsperson – an active person who holds a neutral or negative attitude towards sport. While attempting to characterize the types by gender, the study suggests that women tend to be part of the anti-sport and trendy sportsperson groups, unlike men who tend to be part of the athlete at heart and armchair sportsperson groups. At the same time, differences related more to attitudes than behaviour. Men hold positive stances towards sport moreso than women, who participate in physical activity more for instrumental reasons.