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Trends Show Bathing and Exercise Up, TV Watching Down

Trends Show Bathing and Exercise Up, TV Watching Down

by Mark Gillespie

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ -- Times change, and with those changes come new attitudes. Gallup has been tracking these attitudes for almost 70 years, making it possible to compare the lifestyles of today with yesteryear.

Take bathing, for instance. OK, so it's not the most exciting thing in the world, but a new CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll shows Americans are bathing more now than a half century ago. The new poll, conducted December 20-21, found that 75% of Americans shower or bathe every day in the winter. By way of comparison, only 29% of Americans told Gallup interviewers in 1950 that they bathed every day in the winter. Back then, 52% of Americans showered three times a week or less.

Physical fitness has changed from a lifestyle for athletes to a ritual for many Americans. In 1961, only 24% of Americans said they took part in some form of daily activity (outside of work, including housework) to keep physically fit. Today that figure is 60%, similar to results of a 1984 poll. As might be expected, younger Americans between the ages of 18-29 record a high percentage of participation in fitness activities (64%); however, the surprising statistic is that 69% of those over 65 also take part in daily physical activity.

Americans may also be watching less television today, giving credence to claims from industry leaders that the viewing audience is being distracted by the Internet. Nearly three out of ten Americans, 28%, today watch more than four hours of television a day during the week. That percentage has risen from 23% in 1985, while the percentage who watch between three and four hours a day has fallen from 37% in the 1985 Gallup poll to 29% today. Further, the percentage who watch less than three hours a day has risen from 35% in 1985 to 42% today.

American Vacation Habits
When asked whether they had taken a vacation away from home within the last 12 months that lasted six nights or more, 57% of Americans said no, while 42% said yes. One might expect that the ability to take such a vacation would be dependent on income, and Gallup's findings support this: 68% of those earning $75,000 or more annually took at least a week-long vacation trip in the past 12 months, compared to only 28% of those earning less than $20,000.

Gender Roles Changing for Teens
One area where modern times may be unsettling to some Americans (especially fathers of teenage girls) is the ritual of dating. In a 1950 Gallup poll, 29% of Americans thought it was acceptable for a girl to phone a boy and ask him out for a date, while 62% considered it unacceptable.

Times have changed. Today, 70% of Americans say it's fine for a girl to call a boy, while 28% (mostly older Americans and those living in the South) still follow the more traditional view. Interestingly, 80% of men say it's OK for a girl to ask a boy out, compared to 62% of women.

Survey Methods
The results below are based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,031 adults, 18 years and older, conducted December 20-21, 1999. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95 percent confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects is plus or minus 3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

What time do you usually get up on weekdays?

  Jun 29-Jul 4, 1950 December 20-21, 1999
Before 5 a.m. 6% 8%
At 5 a.m. 10 9
Between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. 13 13
At 6 a.m. 18 16
Between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. 19 15
At 7 a.m. 15 12
Between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. 8 9
At 8 a.m. 4 5
Between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. 2 3
At 9 a.m. 1 2
Between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. 1 *
At 10 a.m. * 3
After 10 a.m. 1 2
Other * 1
No opinion 1 2
  100% 100%

SUMMARY

  Jun 29-Jul 4, 1950 December 20-21, 1999
Before 6 a.m. 29% 30%
6-7 a.m. 52 43
After 7 a.m. 17 24
No opinion/other 1 3
  100% 100%

At what time do you usually get up on Saturdays?

  Jun 29-Jul 4, 1950 December 20-21, 1999
Before 5 a.m. 5% 3%
At 5 a.m. 8 3
Between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. 9 4
At 6 a.m. 15 7
Between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. 13 11
At 7 a.m. 14 17
Between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. 8 11
At 8 a.m. 11 13
Between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. 3 7
At 9 a.m. 6 7
Between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. 3 2
At 10 a.m. * 5
After 10 a.m. 2 7
Other * 1
No opinion 3 2
  100% 100%

SUMMARY

  Jun 29-Jul 4, 1950 December 20-21, 1999
Before 6 a.m. 22% 10%
6-7 a.m. 42 35
After 7 a.m. 33 52
No opinion/other 3 3
  100% 100%

About how often do you take a bath or shower in the winter?

  Jun 29-Jul 4, 1950 December 20-21, 1999
Once a week 17% 1%
Twice a week 21 2
Three times a week 14 3
Four times a week 2 2
Five times a week * 1
Six times a week * 1
Seven times a week/every day 29 65
Twice a day (‡) -- 10
Every other day/every two days 9 11
Other 2 3
No opinion 5 1
  100% 100%

SUMMARY

  Jun 29-Jul 4, 1950 December 20-21, 1999
At least once a day 29% 75%
Less frequently 63 21
No opinion/other 7 4
  100% 100%

Within the last 12 months, have you taken any vacation which took you away from home six nights in a row, or more?

  Yes No No opinion
1999 Dec 20-21 42% 57 1
 
1968 Dec 5-10 38% 62 --

Could you estimate how many hours you spend watching TV on an average weekday, that is, Monday through Friday?

  Less than 3 hours 3-4 hours More than 4 hours
1999 Dec 20-21 42% 29 28
 
1993 Nov 19-21§ § § §
1990 Aug 16§ § § §
1985 Jun 22-25 35% 37 23
1981 Dec 31§ § § §
1981 Apr-Jun 38% 37 25

§ response categories recorded in these years not consistent with current categories

Do you think it's all right for a girl to telephone a boy to ask for a date, say, to take her out to a movie?

  Yes No No opinion
1999 Dec 20-21 70% 28 2
 
1950 Jun 29-Jul 4 29% 62 8

Aside from any work you do at home or at a job, do you do anything regularly -- that is, on a daily basis -- that helps keep you physically fit?

  Yes No/no opinion
1999 Dec 20-21 60% 40
 
1987 Oct 23-26 49% 51
1984 May 7-13 59% 41
1980 Apr 11-14 46% 54
1977 Sep 9-12 48% 52
1961 Oct 19 24% 75

Do you have a pet cat or dog?

  Yes No/no opinion
1999 Dec 20-21 54% 46
 
1997 Apr 2-5*** 56% 44
1995 Aug 7-9** 61% 39
1990 Jul 19-22 58% 42
1985 Jul 15-16‡ 57% 43
1952 Mar 14-19 48% 52

‡NBC News; ** US News and World Report/CNN/IBM; *** CBS News/New York Times

Which of the following best describes your current situation - employed full time, employed part time, retired, a homemaker, a student, unemployed but looking for work, unemployed and not looking for work?

  December 20-21, 1999
Employed full time 52%
Employed part time 7
Retired 21
Homemaker 8
Student 6
Unemployed but looking for work 2
Unemployed and not looking for work 1
DISABLED (vol.) 2
No opinion 1
  100%

How do you get to work?

BASED ON --640-- EMPLOYED; ± 4 PCT PTS

IF MORE THAN ONE METHOD: Which is the primary method you use to get to work?

  Walk/
bicycle
Drive car/
truck
Bus Subway/
Public Trans-
port
Car-
pool
Work at home Other No
opin-
ion
1999 Dec 20-21 4% 87 2 1 1 * 5 *
1971 Apr 23-26 6% # 81 6 3 * * 4 --
1947 May 14-17 26% 32 13 12 * 12 * 10

(#) Category "Bicycle/motorbike" included in "Other"; 6% represents "Walk" only.

* = less than 0.5%
(vol.) = volunteered response


Gallup https://news.gallup.com/poll/3352/trends-show-bathing-exercise-up-watching-down.aspx
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