Australians do not exercise at sufficient levels to promote good health

Introduction: Decades of research into muscle strengthening activities has shown a multiplicity of health benefits for both healthy and elevated risk populations. Physical activity guidelines for older adults in several countries explicitly state that older adults should initiate and maintain engagement in muscle strengthening activities in conjunction with aerobic, flexibility and balance based activities to continue to lead healthy lifestyles. National health authorities have widely promoted physical activity in the form of aerobic exercise to the public, although the promotion of muscle strengthening activities has received far less attention. The primary objective of this research was to highlight the lack of prevalence of muscle strengthening activities across a six-year period in an Australian population whist examining gender and age trends. Methodology: A Computer-Assisted-Telephone-Interview (CATI) survey conducted by Population Research Laboratory at CQUniversity performed a survey of Central Queensland adults in October–November 2006 (n = 1236; male = 620, female = 616), 2008 (n = 1237; male = 619, female = 618) and 2010 (n = 1289; male = 635, female = 654). Respondents were asked to report on their strength training knowledge, sources of strength training knowledge, participation levels, duration, frequency and intensity of training, and barriers and constraints to engaging in strength training. Participants: Respondents were 18 years of age or older that could be contacted by direct-dialed, land-based telephone service. A telephone database using a computer program to select, with replacement, a simple random sample of phone numbers selected respondents. Results: Across the six-year time period almost 85% of the population sampled did not perform strength training activities with only 13.7% in 2006, 16.9% in 2008 and 13.2% in 2010 responding to participating in strength training activities. Males (2006 12.5%, 2008 22.4%, 2010 13.2%) were consistently more likely to perform muscle strengthening activities than females (2006 14.8%, 2008 17.7%, 2010 11.2%). Significantly more males performed strength training and at sufficient physical activity levels than females (p < 0.05). Respondents over 65 years were less likely to participate in strength training and less likely to train at sufficient levels than younger cohorts (p < 0.01). Conclusions: The present data suggests that the prevalence of Australian's participating in regular muscle strengthening activity programs is very low and unlikely to provide health benefits to stave off age associated muscle decline and health risks. The findings also underscore the need to increase overall education on the benefits of regular strength training with an emphasis among targeted adult populations to increase participation in strength training programs.