A survey conducted by the European Union on sporting habits of non-Europeans was recently published. The conclusions are quite troubling, and although it may seem like a minor problem with all the problems the Old Continent is going throughIn the end, health is the most important thing and that’s why they warn about this fact: 45% of Europeans never do any sports.
By contrast, there are the least number of people who exercise: 38% of European citizens exercise often or daily, and 17% regularly. But among European countries it is the most and least stable. Well, oddly enough, the worst weather is where you do most sports, when our intuition tells us otherwise. a) yes, The kings of European sports are the Finns, as 71% of them exercise at least once a week; They are followed by Luxemburger (63%); From the Netherlands (60%) and Swedes (59%).
How is Spain located in Europe?
You guessed it, most countries in the South do less sport, although Poland slips down to third place, with 65% of citizens playing no sport. The most stable countries are Greece (68%) and Portugal (75%). Spain is not that bad but it is below the European average, with 47% of Spaniards never exercising.
The survey also gives results by age groups: in the European Union, Young people between 15 and 24 years old are the ones who exercise regularly (54%) and decreases with age to 21% in people over 55 years of age.
They also asked respondents about their motivations for exercising. The majority, 54%, said it improved their health; 43% made an argument for improving physical fitness; 39% only for relaxation; 27% to improve performance or enjoyment; 25% to control their weight for health reasons, and 21% to improve their appearance. Then there are excuses for those who do not exercise, mostly due to lack of time (41%), lack of interest (25%) and disability or illness (in this case force majeure): 14%.
More studies on exercise
If the previous study was conducted recently, between April and May of this year, then the other, more recent and similar study was conducted by the World Economic Forum, dating from 2021. Results in Europe were similar but global data were also provided. Thus, the most stable countries are Japan, Brazil, Italy, Poland, France, Chile, Mexico and the United States. Spain, in tenth place, after Argentina, is approaching to complete the top ten.
With regard to Europe, according to this study, our country is the fourth least exercised and the largest number of inactive population. A disturbing reality in a country with ideal climatic conditions for sports and many high-quality facilities throughout the territory.
Ours is the fourth country with the least exercise and the most inactive population
As for the hours of training, Spain does not stand out either. While the average for 29 countries would be 6.1 hours per week, in the case of Spain, the average drops to 5.2 hours per week. Therefore, even those who exercise are not doing enough. The Netherlands, with an average of 12.8 hours per week, is the country that spends the most hours per week in sports.
Favorite sport for non-kids
As for those who exercise regularly, or at least once a week, we also know, thanks to this study, what exercises they perform. Globally , Prefer physical fitness (20%), running (19%), cycling (13%), soccer (10%). If you look closely, these are sports where you don’t need equipment and are mostly aerobics.
Spain, which has 20% of followers, takes first place Fitness. In fact, it is the fourth country in which to achieve success after Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands. In addition to fitness, Spaniards also practice swimming (11%), running and cycling (9%) and football (8%). By gender, Hispanic men spend more hours exercising than Hispanic women.
Not enough, I want more
We do not know whether the majority of those who do not exercise are dissatisfied with it or, on the contrary, are indifferent to it or simply do not like it, despite the fact that it affects their health. What we know is that Among those who practice it, the majority are not satisfied with the time they allocate to it. 58% would like to do more sports (the percentage in Spain rises to 59%, the most dissatisfied with Poland).
However, globally, 37% of those surveyed expressed satisfaction with the exercise they do, and in Spain also it is average, with 36% in this case. The most satisfied European countries are the United Kingdom (55%), the Netherlands (51%) and Germany (49%), with half of the population feeling happy in this regard. Spain is followed by Italy and Poland (26%) and France (22%).
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