Number one weekly activity: reads a newspaper sold in his area - 47.5% of men
Number one weekly activity: cooks for pleasure - 50.5% of women
Read books weekly: 28.2% of women and 25.3% of men
Attend a religious gathering (weekly): 47.1% of women and 32.5% of men
Health is not top of the mind for South Africans. Research done in the UK showed that women are more likely than men to report ill health. (Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8588686.stm). It would seem that South Africans show similar trends. Only 20.4% of men go to the doctor, dentist or other medical professional each month, compared to 30.5% of women. This is the fourth-highest activity on the women's monthly list, and the seventh on the men's.
Across a year however, the numbers even out, with 35.0% of all men seeing a medical professional within the course of a year, and 34.5% of women. It is sobering however, to consider that in a country with such high rates of infection for HIV/Aids, TB and other diseases, only a third of all adults will get medical care each year.
| Men's Top 10 Monthly Activities | Women's Top 10 Monthly Activities | |
| 1. | Eat out at a restaurant or steakhouse (33.8%) | Visit hair salon (43.5%) |
| 2. | Have a braai (28.8%) | Eat out at a restaurant or steakhouse (35.7%) |
| 3. | Shop for pleasure (26.6%) | Shop for pleasure (31.9%) |
| 4. | Attend a funeral (25.2%) | Go to the doctor, dentist, clinic or other (30.5%) |
| 5. | Watch videos/DVDs (23.7%) | Bake for pleasure (30.4%) |
| 6. | Buy DVDs (22.1%) | Attend a funeral (29.7%) |
| 7. | Go to the doctor, dentist, clinic or other (20.4%) | Have a braai (25.4%) |
| 8. | Buy CDs (20.1%) | Watch videos/DVDs (24.6%) |
| 9. | Visit hair salon (20.0%) | Buy DVDs (19.8%) |
| 10. | Attend religious gathering (excluding funerals) (19.4%) | Attend a burial society meeting (19.5%) |
Activities you're least likely to find South Africans doing.
| Men's least likely activity | Women's least likely activity | |
| 1. | Knitting & crocheting (89.9%) | Placing bets on a horserace (89.1%) |
| 2. | Scrapbooking and decoupage (89.2%) | Caravanning (89.0%) |
| 3. | Needlework/tapestry (88.7%) | Hiring a car (86.7%) |
| 4. | Sewing/dressmaking (88.0%) | Scrapbooking/decoupage (85.6%) |
| 5. | Using slimming preparations in a bid to lose weight (87.6%) | Gambling at a casino (85.4%) |
| 6. | Caravanning (87%) | Bird-watching (83.8%) |
| 7. | Having beauty treatments (86.4%) | Playing games on the internet (83.5%) |
| 8. | Placing bets on horseracing (85.8%) | Trying to lose weight using slimming preparations (83.3%) |
| 9. | Hiring a car (85.4%) | Playing a musical instrument (83.0%) |
| 10. | Sunbathing (85%) | Attending a book club (82.3%) |
The top annual activity for South Africans is attending weddings, with 50.8% of women and 46.9% of men making it their favourite.
