Common Forms Of Recreation Among Residents Of Rural Areas: The Case Of Residents In Lubelskie Voivodship

Because of the correlation between an individual’s health and physical activity, this study examines factors influencing the participation of rural residents in various recreational activities. Using survey data collected from rural residents of two areas of Lubelskie Voivodship, this paper fills the gap in research focused on rural residents. The response summary identifies the two most common forms of recreation among rural residents as walking and bicycling, recreation forms common in other European and non-European countries. To further identify personal characteristics and their relation to the frequency of recreational walking and biking, two equations were specified and estimated using latent dependent variable techniques. The results equation showed that females and farmers were more frequently walking than men or non-farming rural residents. In the case of recreational biking, married respondents, farmers, and residents of the northern area of Lubelskie were twice as likely to bike often or very often than the non-married, not employed in farming, and residents of the southern area. Results indicate that in addition to different demographic characteristics, location determines physical activity as reflected in recreational walking and biking, suggesting different approaches are needed to increase participation in either form of recreation among rural residents.