There's not much in life that interrupts the robust exercise habits of the Australian male, which is a stark contrast to his less active female counterpart, a national study shows.

Not the smokes, booze, or even a disability seems to hamper the average activity levels of blokes, according to the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia annual survey of 17,000 people.

In fact, male smokers and drinkers reported higher exercise levels than their clean-living friends.

Women, on the other hand, start out in life doing less exercise and tend to drop off further during the child-rearing years.

If a woman is single, has children, smokes, drinks or has a disability, it all plays a role in how active she's likely to be, the survey found.

Syd Fridman is fit and lean, exercising on almost a daily basis, a routine he has kept for over two decades.

But what sets Syd apart from most avid gym-goers is his willingness to partake in life's guilty pleasures – a cigarette and a glass of wine after a long day.

"I used to have a personal trainer but even without that I have continued to go to the gym five days a week," he said.

"I can be there from anywhere between one and two hours each day."

When told that older men who smoke and drink tend to exercise more than younger men on health kicks, he wasn't surprised.

"I can understand that, I suppose older men are just trying to keep the candle of youth burning," he said.

Two important determinants of how active a person is were the same regardless of sex: where they live and what they do for work.

Which sex is working out the most?

Men do roughly twice the amount of high impact exercise as women at almost every stage of life. Men aged 15 to 24 spent an average 231 minutes a week doing vigorous exercise compared to 124 minutes for women. Older men (over 75) still do an average 55 minutes of high intensity exercise a week, compared to just 27 minutes for women.

But who does more walking?

Men also walk more minutes per week than women at all ages, with the differences most pronounced in youth and then again in late middle age. Young men (15 to 24 years) walk an extra 40 minutes each week than their young female friends at 313 minutes. Although the difference narrows through their 30s and 40s, men aged 65 – 74 are walking about 44 minutes more (238 minutes) each week than the women (194 minutes)

So, what's getting in the way for women then?

Women's exercise levels drop off during child-rearing years. Unlike men who exercise consistently until about 75, women's exercise levels peak in their mid-late 20s, then drop off at 34 years and remain down until they're about 55 year old. From 25 to 34 women do an average 2363 MET minutes of exercise per week, which drops to 2068 from 35-44.

Survey economist Roger Wilkins warned that because an activity has to be sustained for ten minutes to be included in the survey, some people may be chasing after children all day long but changing what they're doing every three minutes, which won't show up in the results. Professor Wilkins also speculated men may be more likely to exaggerate how active they are.

Does where you live affect how much you exercise?

Yes, people in non-urban, or country, areas have higher activity levels than people in the city.

Does being married affect your exercise regime?

Not if you're a man but yes, significantly, if you're a woman. Women with a partner and children exercise less than their single, childless friends but men exercise the same regardless of whether they have kids.

Which men exercise the most?

Smokers and men who are less educated have higher activity levels than non-smokers and those who are university qualified. Smoking and education have no impact on how a woman exercises.

Is work hard, play hard a real thing?

Drinkers exercise as much or more than their sober friends. Both men and women who consume 43 or more drinks per week do not have significantly different activities levels to those who drink less than 10, But men who drink 15 to 42 drinks a week exercise more than the teetotallers. Women who drink 29 to 42 drinks a week exercise less.

Does what type of job you have play a role?

Yes. Clerical and administrative workers have the lowest activity levels, and labourers have the highest (1592 MET-minutes per week).

Does having a disability stop you exercising?

It does if you're a woman. A moderate or severe disability is associated with less exercise for women but, surprisingly, for men there's no negative impact on how much they exercise.

What is a MET-minute?

A MET or metabolic equivalent minute is defined at the amount of oxygen consumed in one minute while sitting at rest, e,g, for walking MET minutes are calculated by multiplying the time spent walking by 3.3.

With Corinna Lagerberg