Every new year is a new beginning. People join gyms, go on diets, make resolutions to read more books, learn the guitar, volunteer more often, and promote their personal growth in a variety of ways. And, as it turns out, one of the most popular ways to promote your own personal growth is to look for love.
When it comes to New Year’s resolutions, finding love is often right up there with getting into shape or eating better. Numerous studies have shown that more people sign up for dating sites in January than any other time during the year, and it got us to thinking… What exactly is the relationship between fitness and dating? And how important is health and fitness to people who are actively looking for someone?
To find the answers, the online dating site and app Zoosk surveyed over 7,000 members and looked into data from over 1,242,696 million dating profiles to get a better idea of what singles think about health, fitness, and finding that special someone.
Here’s what they found:
People are focusing on love and fitness in the new year.
38% of online daters said that their New Year’s resolution is to find love, followed by 12% who want to get in shape, and 10% who want to eat healthier or diet. Some other interesting finds…
– Men are slightly more interested in getting in shape than women—13% of men compared to 10% of women list getting in shape as their top resolution.
– More women (8%) than men (5%) said they want to travel more.
– Unlike other age groups, Millennials are more interested in saving more money (9%) than they are in eating healthier or dieting (8%).
Regular exercise is important to the majority of singles.
65% of online daters said that dating someone who exercises regularly is important.
– Women found exercise slightly more important than men—65% of them said it was important, while only 61% of men did.
– Millennials don’t value exercise as much. Only 58% said it was important and 42% said it wasn’t important.
– People who exercise regularly (three times a week or more) really think dating someone who exercises is important. 83% of them said it was important while only 17% listed it as not important.
Workout clothes can be sexy date attire.
Surprisingly, wearing workout clothes on a date is actually a turn-on for the majority of singles. 69% of people said that workout clothes are attractive and they wouldn’t judge someone for wearing them on a date. And men are really all for it—75% of them said that it was fine to wear workout clothes on a date compared to 59% of women.
But yoga pants are really the way to man’s (or woman’s) heart.
So what workout clothes should you be wearing on all these dates? Men overwhelmingly picked yoga pants—46% of them said that they’re the most attractive piece of activewear. And women like it when guys rock yoga pants too, though basketball shorts came in a close second.
Workout Clothes Men Find the Most Attractive
Yoga pants – 46%
Spandex – 17%
Tank top – 12%
Running shorts – 11%
Sweatpants – 7%
Basketball shorts – 3%
Muscle shirts – 2%
Headband – 2%
Workout Clothes Women Find the Most Attractive
Yoga pants – 18%
Basketball shorts – 17%
Muscle shirts – 16%
Sweatpants – 15%
Tank top – 13%
Running shorts – 13%
Spandex – 5%
Headband – 2%
Talking about health and fitness in your dating profile makes you more attractive.
Thought it’s not quite as popular as talking about guacamole, mentioning staying active in your profile can get you up to 81% more inbound messages than the average. And, overall, talking about health and exercise makes you more appealing to other singles.
Best Fitness Terms to Mention in Your Online Dating Profile
| Term mentioned in profile | Increase in inbound messages |
| Staying active | 81% |
| Healthy | 75% |
| Working out | 71% |
| Fitness | 71% |
| Exercising | 67% |
| Diet | 60% |
| Active lifestyle | 59% |
| Health | 58% |
| Gym | 51% |
Even talking about your own fitness and body type goes over well.
Are you really into working on your abs? Don’t be afraid to let people know! Mentioning specific words related to your body type such as lean, toned, or ripped can get you up to 27% more messages. And people who talk about their muscles get up to 122% more inbound messages than the average.
Best Body Type Terms to Mention in Your Online Dating Profile
| Term mentioned in profile | Increase in inbound messages |
| Muscles | 122% |
| Fit | 57% |
| Athletic | 43% |
| Abs | 34% |
| Ripped | 27% |
| Lean | 21% |
| Toned | 20% |
Most people are honest about how much they like (or don’t like) to exercise.
Only 5% of daters admitted to pretending to like exercise in order to impress a potential love interest. More women than men (6% compared to 5%) admitted to pretending, and 11% of Millenials.
And some people are willing to admit that they go to the gym just to meet other singles.
7% of people said that they have joined a gym or gone to the gym just to meet other single people. And they’re hitting on each other too!
– 17% of singles have been hit on at the gym before—23% of women and 15% of men.
– 9% of singles have hit on someone at the gym before—10% of men and 4% of women.
Pilates is by far the sexiest workout.
If you do pilates, you might want to bring it up in your dating profile. People who mention pilates in their profile can get up to 160% more inbound messages. In fact, workouts that require strong flexibility such as kickboxing, Zumba, and yoga will all give you a healthy increase.
Sexiest Workouts According to Online Daters
| Workout mentioned in profile | Increase in inbound messages |
| Pilates | 160% |
| Kickboxing | 139% |
| Zumba | 130% |
| Yoga | 118% |
| Crossfit | 55% |
| Running | 54% |
| Marathon | 44% |
| Rowing | 35% |
| Tennis | 30% |
| Boxing | 28% |
| Hiking | 29% |
| Walking | 10% |
| Biking | 5% |
Los Angeles is the most health-conscious city.
After looking into the U.S. cities where online daters mention healthy in their profile, LA topped the charts.
Top Ten Health-Conscious Cities for Daters
- Los Angeles
- New York
- Miami/Fort Lauderdale
- Dallas/Fort Worth
- Phoenix
- Chicago
- San Francisco/Bay Area
- Seattle
- Atlanta
- Houston
Los Angeles is also the most into fitness.
Topping the charts once again, LA daters mention exercise in their dating profiles more than any other U.S. city as well.
Top Ten Fit Cities for Daters
- Los Angeles
- Chicago
- Dallas/Fort Worth
- New York
- Houston
- Miami/Fort Lauderdale
- Phoenix
- Atlanta
- Inland Empire (Riverside and San Bernardino County)
- San Francisco/Bay Area
Non-smokers attract more dates.
If you’re a non-smoker you’re much more likely to get more inbound messages than those who smoke regularly or socially. Men who are non-smokers get 70% more inbound messages than the average and women get 67% more inbound messages.
