What This Means
This research suggests that China's National Fitness Routes (NFRs) — outdoor public spaces equipped with exercise machines funded by the government — are not being used primarily for vigorous exercise. Across nearly 10,000 observations at four different NFR sites over multiple seasons, researchers found that outdoor gym equipment was involved in only about 15% of all recorded activities. Most people were sitting, standing, or walking rather than using the exercise machines, and older adults were the most frequent visitors. The most popular pieces of equipment were the air walker, leg massager, and waist/back massager.
The study also found that factors like time of day, day of the week, temperature, air quality, and the physical design of the site all influenced whether people engaged in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, while gender and season did not. Activities tended to cluster spatially around benches, pathways, and open areas rather than around the gym equipment itself, suggesting these spaces are valued as much for socializing and light recreation as for structured exercise.
This research suggests that simply installing outdoor gym equipment is not sufficient to drive high levels of physical activity in these spaces. The findings point toward a more holistic design approach — combining age-appropriate exercise machines with shaded seating, walking paths, and open flexible areas — to better serve the diverse needs of community members, particularly older adults, and to more effectively encourage physical activity in public spaces.