Status: 11.10.2021 4:54 p.m.
Too much stress, too long sitting: According to a report by the health insurance company DKV and the Cologne Sports University, only every ninth citizen has a healthy lifestyle – a new low.
Germans spend too much time sitting down, become more and more lazy and cannot cope with stress adequately. This comes from a report by the health insurance company DKV and the Cologne Sports University. Only every ninth citizen leads an “all around healthy” lifestyle with a view to diet, physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption and stress level, it says. That’s a low since 2010.
“The Germans stay lazy, they are getting lazy,” said Ingo Froböse, head of the study at the Cologne Sports University. According to the report, Germans now sit on average 8.5 hours per working day – one hour more than in 2018. Young adults (18 to 29 years old) sit even longer. With them it is now around 10.5 hours – mostly while working on the computer. In comparison: in 2018 they sat on a chair or sofa for an average of eight hours and 41 minutes.
Stress level increased
And the corona pandemic has not only left its mark on activity. Dealing with stress has also deteriorated. Around 60 percent of those surveyed feel stressed or cannot find any effective compensation strategies. Only 40 percent succeed in reducing stress – three years ago this was 57 percent.
Sports scientist Froböse warned that this was the highest stress level measured so far. “The majority do not manage to recharge their batteries.” Women are more stressed than men, explained Froböse with reference to the workload with childcare and homeschooling.
Less physical activity
At the same time, inactivity has increased. According to the results of the survey, around 70 percent of citizens are physically active for more than 300 minutes per week according to the recommendations of the World Health Organization – in 2010 it was 83 percent.
Eleven percent classify the survey as “minimalists” who are only on the move for 150 to 300 minutes. Almost every fifth German even falls short of 150 minutes of physical activity. This inactive group worries him very much, underlined Froböse.
Diet: Women have better values than men
When it comes to nutrition, almost half are still healthy. The recommendations of the German Nutrition Society serve as a guideline. Women get better values than men.
Looking at the menu, there is a clear gap between southern Germany and the rest of the country. While 57 percent of those surveyed in Saxony-Anhalt said they had to pay attention to healthy food, Baden-Württemberg was at the bottom with 40 percent.
Saxons live the healthiest
In the overall comparison of the federal states, Saxony is the front runner in terms of a healthy lifestyle. There, 18 percent of those surveyed, and thus almost one in five, achieved all standards. North Rhine-Westphalia brings up the rear with seven percent. It is well below the national average of eleven percent. Most of the physically active citizens live in Berlin and Brandenburg.
For the sixth time, the health and exercise behavior of Germans was examined for the DKV report. A total of 2,800 people were surveyed between the end of March and the beginning of May.