Only one in 10 Indians exercised on a given day in 2024, according to the Time Use Survey by the National Statistics Office. Exercise participation has increased since 2019, when 5.7% Indians reported exercising, but remains close to the 8% recorded in the 1998 survey conducted by the Central Statistical Organisation.
Men were nearly three times more likely to exercise than women – 14.5% of men reported exercising on a given day compared with 4.9% of women – and participation was higher in cities than in villages. Rural women reported the lowest levels of exercise. Of those who did exercise, men spent an average of 60 minutes, while women spent 56 minutes.
About 14% Indians in cities reported exercising, spending about 61 minutes on average, compared with 7% in rural areas, where the average time was 56 minutes. Women carry a disproportionate share of unpaid domestic and care work, as IndiaSpend reported in July 2025, leaving them with limited time or energy for exercise.
A 2024 study in the Lancet Global Health, which conducted a pooled analysis of 507 surveys across 163 countries, found that globally, about 31.3% people got insufficient physical activity – up from 23.4% at the turn of the century. “Insufficient physical activity increases the risk...
Read more
-
Top Tech: Amazon unveils new 'enhanced' Fire TV range in major shake-up
-
Vegetable Halwa Recipes: Not just semolina and flour, try these special halwa made with vegetables; guests will ask for the recipe.
-
Met Police issue major update on Peter Mandelson Epstein files probe as homes searched
-
Bharat Taxi starts operations, drawing over 50,000 drivers from Gujarat
-
Couple hear scratching in their walls and are in awe by what they discover
