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I need a summary of macro trends influencing the level of physical activity/ recreation among children and adults in SINGAPORE
Hi! Thank you for your request to research macro trends influencing the level of physical activity/ recreation among children and adults in Singapore.
The short version is that I have prepared a summary of PEST (Political, Economic, Social, Technological) macrotrends influencing level of physical activity and exercise among Singaporeans based on official analysis and reports.
Below you will find a deep dive of my research along with methodology and description of results.
METHODOLOGY
To answer your query I looked for official documents, reports, and analysis of the macrotrends and factors influencing the level of physical activity and exercise among Singaporeans. My sources include SportS, the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) as well as third-party studies such as Nielsen's 'Southeast Asian Digital Consumer Habits'. Please read on to see the results.
POLITICAL
Early in 2015, Dr. Benedict Tan, the President of the Singapore Sailing Federation and Sports Patron of the Singapore Disability Sports Council, addressed the gap in Singapore's sports participation framework in a meeting with the Singapore Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY). His main point was that Singaporeans encounter obstacles when inculcating a positive sports and exercise culture. He attributed the issues to a handful of government agencies and expressed his hope that the nation's leaders will not wait too long before taking action to address these gaps. The Minister at that time, Lawrence Wong, highlighted several initiatives to address the perceived gaps in Singapore's sport participation level. Some of these are the Vision 2030 Master Plan, ActiveSG, Sundays @ the Park and others. Mr. Wong also outlined the Ministry's plans to map out 5 regional Sports Centres as well as improving their existing facilities.
Early this January 2017 the new Minister Grace Fu reported that the Ministry continued previous efforts such as ActiveSG which now had 1.2 million members. The Ministry also launched new initiatives such as the annual and ongoing Sports Education Programme and School Holiday Sports Programmes for students. SportSG also organized the inagural GetActive! Singapore in 2016 with 500,000 Singaporeans participating. The Ministry also organized the comprehensive High Performance Sports System to build a strong core of national athletes from Singapore's schools. This initiative together with the National Youth Sports Institute (NYSI) aims to strengthen youth sports eco-system in Singapore.
The Sports Index Participation Trends 2015 report that the main factors inhibiting Singaporeans from participating in sports lean towards lack of time or interest rather than accessibility. This indicates that political macrotrends are favorable and that Singaporeans enjoy government and political support in raising their level of sports participation.
ECONOMIC
The National Sports Participation Survey is a report prepared by Sport Singapore every 5 to 6 years. The most recent report available is the 2011 study, which provides insights into the macrotrends influencing the level of physical activity/recreation among Singaporeans.
Sport Singapore reported that in terms of economic activity, Singaporean retirees retained a 42% participation level in sports from 2005 while homemakers increased their participation to 37%. However, students and full-time national servicemen (NSFs) showed significantly lower scores for sports participation in 2010 compared to 2005. Still, these groups showed a higher rate of regular exercise compared to other groups.
The report also found that by household income level, those with the lowest income bracket (earning less than $1,500) actually registered the highest rate of improvement in level of sport participation from 2005 at 45% (6 percent increase).
The group with the highest service grade, specifically the professionals, managers, executives and businessmen (PMEBs) continued to register the highest regular participation level in sports compared to other white collars. Blue collar workers reported the biggest drop in level of sports participation.
Land property dwellers also decelerated the most in sports participation level with a 17% drop. Residents of executive condos and private apartments in Singapore remained the most active in sports, with around half of the group actively exercising at least once a week.
The Sports Index Participation Trends 2015 concluded that participation in sports improves with better economic status, household income, and dwelling type. The comparably high rate (54%) of Singaporeans participating in sports regularly indicates that economic macrotrends are favorable.
SOCIAL
According to Singapore Sports Council, the number of students in polytechnics and tertiary education increased by 5.7% between 2005 and 2010. These institutions do not require physical education and as such may influence students to drop out from sports to focus on their studies and other interests instead.
This assumption was supported by findings from the responses of Singaporean teens aged 15 to 19. Compared to students enrolled in institutions with compulsory physical education, polytechnic students reported lower sports participation rate.
Another social macrotrend is the burden of higher dependency on the working population. The Department of Statistics reported that the old age support ratio dropped from 8.9 in 2005 to 7.9 in 2010. This translates to lesser people from the working population to take care of the elderly. This coincided to an increase in Singaporeans citing 'family commitments' as a reason for not participating in sports. The trend is expected to continue in years ahead with the growing dependency burden likely to compete with sports for time, for Singaporeans 15 to 64 years old.
TECHNOLOGICAL
The Singapore Sports Council also cites the increasing consumption of media and entertainment by teens and young adults as a significant factor affecting their participation in sports. Nielsen's report Southeast Asian Digital Consumer Habits 2011 showed that Singapore had the highest internet penetration in Southeast Asia. Also, 97% of Singaporeans aged 15 to 19 years old used internet regularly. The fact that technological entertainment competed for Singaporean's free time for sports was supported by the findings of the National Youth Council of Singapore. In 2010 the Council reported that a 10.6% drop in youths who were members in Sports Group from 2005 to 2010. The Council also found that by 2010, more than 1 in 4 Singaporean youths were in online groups such as Facebook and Myspace Fan pages.
SPORTS INDEX PARTICIPATION TRENDS 2015
The Sports Index Participation Trends 2015 reported that the younger generation participate more in Team Sports especially ball Sports. On the other hand, the older generation preferred Physical Exercise, specifically Walking for Health.
The report concludes that 75% of adult Singaporeans agree that participation in sports strengthen bonding within the community.
CONCLUSION
To wrap it up, the macrotrends summarized above show that political and economic factors positively influence Singaporeans in regards to their level of sport participation, while social and technological factors negatively affect Singaporeans in terms of physical activity and sports participation.
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