(supplied, Discovery Vitality)
  • Discovery Vitality has named Bloemfontein South Africa's most inactive city.
  • Bloemfontein residents are 35% less likely to take part in active activities compared to those in Cape Town.
  • Cape Town is South Africa's most active city, followed by Johannesburg and Pretoria. 

Bloemfontein residents are less likely to walk, go to the gym, or do something outdoors, a new report by Discovery Vitality says.

According to the Road to a Healthier South Africa report, based on data from Discovery’s Vitality programme, Capetonians are 35% more likely to take part in such activities than people who live in Bloemfontein. 

After Cape Town, Johannesburg is the country’s most active city, followed by Pretoria, Durban, and then Port Elizabeth.

See also: This is the city with the worst drivers in all of South Africa

Durbanites are, however, more like to go to the gym than people in Johannesburg and Pretoria, though it still lags 2% behind Cape Town on that score. 

(supplied, Discovery Vitality)

And Johannesburg residents are less likely to walk compared to those in Pretoria. 

Dr David Jankelow, president-elect of the South African Heart Association, says exercise is a “simple antidote” to the  “global tsunami of lifestyle-related illnesses.” 

(Supplied, Discovery Vitality)

“It may, in fact, be more important than medicines when it comes to preventing and sustaining good health,” Jankelow writes in the report. 

“I strongly believe in the prescription of physical activity and encourage all South Africans to get moving – even small steps will have a big impact on health outcomes.” 

(Supplied, Discovery Vitality)

The report says that around half of South African adults live sedentary lifestyles – more than double the global average of 23%.

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