Despite the country's passion for soccer, it only comes in third (25 percent) among preferred sports in the two cities, with walking (37 percent) and jogging (33 percent) being more popular.
The results reflect a slight preference for individual sports since they allow greater flexibility, the survey by Indochina Research said. The independent market research firm polled 600 respondents aged between 18 and 64 face to face and door to door last November.
Gender differences
The survey found that women spend more than the overall respondents on membership cards, food and drink supplements and renting facilities like tennis courts and football pitches.
Within the women population itself, those in Hanoi are willing to spend more than their counterparts in Saigon on certain items. They spend 54 percent more on clothing, 52 percent more on renting facilities and 45 percent more on membership.
But walking is their most favorite (60 percent) sport followed by running, working out in the gym and yoga/pilates. Women are much fonder of all four than men.
In comparison, the top sports for urban men in order of preference are soccer, jogging/running, swimming, working out.
With interest in fitness activities picking up in Vietnam, gymnasium chains are earning big bucks. California Fitness and Yoga claims to have 100,000 members at its 32 centers across the country and revenues of over VND300 billion ($12.85 million) last year, up 60 percent from 2016.
The fitness industry is expected to grow annually at 19.9 percent to $112.7 million by 2020, according to Statistics Portal.
A 2017 study by the U.S.’s Stanford University claimed Vietnam was among the least physically active countries in the world, with an average Vietnamese walking only 3,600 steps a day compared to 4,000 by Filipinos, 5,800 by South Koreans and 6,200 Chinese.