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The word ¡°bodybuilding¡± invokes images of the rippling, bulging abs and pecs of he-men like Kwon Sang-woo. But in reality, the trend towards muscle building is spreading most virulently among women in their 20s or 30s, statistics suggest. Analysis of the sales of sports equipment used to build muscle -- dumbbells, chest press machines and benches -- by online marketplace Auction over the last two years found a 75-percent increase in women customers compared to 58 percent among men. In particular, purchases by women in their 30s saw a 153 percent increase from two years ago, the highest among both genders. Women in their 20s also showed much interest in muscles.
Products like dietary supplements also saw a higher sales increase rates among women (133 percent) than men (85 percent) during the last two years. Auction says the hunger for slim bodies and growing awareness that doing both aerobic exercise and muscle exercise is most effective for being in good shape means women who just used to run on the treadmills have started to move on to muscle exercise.
Among dumbbells, which women use the most, the trend is toward heavier ones. ¡°Woman account for more than 70 percent of customers who purchase dumbbells,¡± says Son Jae-gyeong (37), who sells sports equipment in the Power Sports section on the Auction site. ¡°A couple of years ago, women usually bought 1-2 kg dumbbells, but recently models weighing more than 3 kg are selling well.¡± Internet shopping sites have come up with various ideas to pique women¡¯s interest in sports equipment. For example, when they open clothes sales, they try to flog sports equipment as well. One ad reads, ¡°If you want to be slim, you have to work out.¡± The increasing purchasing power of women is reflected in the speed with which companies grasp women¡¯s purchasing inclinations and reflect it in their marketing.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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