Shanghai's regular exercise rate reaches 56.5%

The share of Shanghai residents who exercise regularly has reached 56.5 percent, up 18.1 percentage points from 2015 and 18 points above the national average. Among those aged 60 and above, the rate stands at 42.8 percent.

And data from the city's 200 elderly exercise and health home shows exercise does more than improve health — average hospitalization costs for participating seniors have dropped by nearly 1,800 yuan ($266.7) per person.

The figures were released Thursday at Shanghai's national fitness event, held at the Pengpu Town Citizens Fitness Center in Jing'an district. As part of the Shanghai Municipal People's Government open month series organized by the Shanghai Sports Bureau, four reports were released: the city's sixth national physique monitoring bulletin, its 2025 national fitness activity survey, a development report on elderly exercise and health homes under the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period, and China's first service specification on elderly exercise and health homes.