The people of Imatra consider exercise important

At the beginning of the summer, the city of Imatra conducted a movement survey for the city's residents. The aim of the survey was to find out the movement habits of city dwellers and the things that make or would make them move. The movement survey was part of the movement program being prepared, which will be completed during the fall. 

Fifteen hundred (486) responses were received to the survey, which already gives a good picture of the movements of the people of Imatra. There were respondents from all age groups, the largest group of respondents were women aged 41 to 65. 27 percent of all respondents were men. A third of the respondents lived in families with children, and the rest either lived alone or with a partner. 

Almost everyone (99 percent) considered exercise important or very important. Most of the respondents felt that they exercised enough to maintain their own health and did not feel the need to increase exercise. Exercise was also counted as so-called everyday exercise, i.e. housework, commuting and other daily exercise. 

Maintaining health motivates almost 90 percent of the respondents to exercise, weight control was almost half of the reasons for exercising, but exercising with a friend also motivates more than 40 percent of the exercisers. 

- In my opinion, this exercise with a friend is an important thing, because in light of this, exercise may get caught up in the lack of an exercise buddy. Could some kind of exercise buddy activity be developed with the theme "Let's take care of each other", so that even lonely people would have the opportunity to find an exercise buddy, thinks the physical education instructor Sanna Salu. 

Lack of time or motivation emerged as the main reasons for my own immobility. A quarter of the respondents said that the reason for their inactivity was health, and 20 percent said that lack of money prevented them from exercising. 

Of the exercise places, the outdoor routes were by far the most popular, used by three out of four exercisers. Indoor exercise facilities, gyms and swimming pools were used by a third of the respondents. A third of the respondents wished for more local sports and playgrounds and new outdoor routes.
 
- In summary, the survey left the impression that the people of Imatra are mostly satisfied with their own movement, even if the lack of time limits movement to some extent. Perhaps it was a little surprising that the majority feel that they move enough, states the head of welfare services Arja Kujala of the results of the survey.  

- The measures planned for the mobility program aim to reach as many municipal residents as possible, regardless of age. The goal is to get everyone involved in working towards a common goal – moving and exercising towards health and well-being, continues Kujala. 

The movement program will be displayed on the city's website and on social media, during the fall the program will be presented to the citizens of the city. Follow the exercise program on social media #liikuimatra. 

More information: welfare services manager Arja Kujala. arja.kujalaimatra.fi (arja[dot]kujala[at]imatra[dot]fi), tel. 020 617 2227.

During the fall, we will publish stories about various types of movement. In the first, Teatteri Imatra's newest actor Antti Laine tells about their own movement habits.