부산대학교 도서관

Introduction: Data on exercise in Taiwan mostly describe annual changes (i.e., rise and fall) in the percentage of people engaging in regular exercise, but whether the changes were evidenced and when the trend changed have not been analyzed using statistical models. This study investigated regular exercise trends and identify differences by sex, age, and county/city in Taiwan between 2007 and 2022 using joinpoint regression analysis. Methods: Data on the annual percentage of people engaging in regular exercise, overall and by sex, age group (13-17, 18-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-64, 65-69 and ≥70 years), and county/city (2007-2022), were extracted from the Ministry of Education, Taiwan. Joinpoint regression models were used to identify the years in which regular exercise trends changed. Results: The overall percentage of people engaging in regular exercise increased between 2007 and 2013 and stopped increasing between 2013 and 2022. The percentages of regular exercise in males, people aged ≥18 years, and most counties/cities residents showed similar trends to that of the overall population; the corresponding percentages for females and young population aged 13-17 years continued to increase, with an attenuated level, until 2022. Conclusion: The overall enegagement in regular exercise did not continue to increase in Taiwan in the last decade, with differences in regular exercise trends between different sexes, age groups, and counties/cities. Further research is required to identify factors related to the recent changes in regular exercise trends in various demographic groups to inform relevant promotion strategies.