• Participation in lifeenriching activities was measured in a survey of King County adults. Respondents reported how actively they had participated in 9 different types of activities during the past 30 days. In two instances, the questions were refined from the 2001 survey; music/ dance and writing/reading/ lectures were each split into 2 questions reflecting personal involvement vs. attending a performance or lecture.

• In 2007, 84% of adults were “very active” or “somewhat active” in at least 3 activities. There were no significant differences between regions in 2007 or between years. (figure 1)

• People ages 65 and older were less active than younger people.

• People with incomes of more than $50,000 participated more actively than people with incomes between $15,000 and $24,999. (figure 2)

• People who have a college education participated more actively in life-enriching activities than those with a high school education or less.

• Participation levels did not differ by gender or race/ethnicity.

• The 3 most popular types of activity were writing, reading books, participating in a book club, studying another language, or participating in a theater production; learning about an issue by taking a class, doing research or studying information available in the library, on the internet, or from other sources; and doing individual or team sports or outdoor recreation activities such as hiking, boating, playing tennis, soccer, golf, etc. (figure 3)