Jogging, badminton and basketball are the three favorite sports activities of Shanghai citizens.
A report by Shanghai Sports Bureau said jogging/fast walking had surpassed badminton to become the most participated sporting activities in 2015, followed by basketball, square dancing, table tennis and aerobics.
More than 3,400 people were surveyed, nearly half of whom called for more badminton courts, and a third wanted more swimming pools and gyms. Shanghai had around 400 public badminton venues by the end of last year, as well as 600 swimming pools and 2,200 gyms.
The city and district level governments invested a total of 412.6 million yuan (US$61.8 million) to support citizens' daily exercises in 2015.
A shade over 40 percent of those surveyed said they exercised regularly in 2015 — at least three 30-minute exercises a week, a slight increase on 2014. Nearly 67 percent said the desire to stay healthy was the main reason for undertaking regular exercise. Other reasons included to improve sports skills, to socialize, to be entertained and to lose weight.
More than half of the citizens spent more than 460 yuan last year on sport, such as specialist clothing, hiring courts and buying competition tickets.
The state of Shanghai citizens' health was pleasing, said the report.
