Status: 02/17/2023 4:39 p.m
People in the EU move too little. The corona pandemic has worsened the trend even further. More sport could increase life expectancy and lead to fewer deaths in the EU.
According to a study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), people in the EU move too little. According to this, every third person did not comply with the minimum level of exercise stipulated by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The WHO recommends around 150 minutes of exercise per week. According to the OECD, if everyone in the EU followed this, more than 10,000 deaths a year could be prevented. The average life expectancy of the entire EU population could increase by almost two months.
According to a 2022 Eurobarometer survey, 45 percent of EU citizens do no sport at all. The corona pandemic has further worsened the situation overall. Due to lockdowns and contact restrictions, just over half of EU citizens stated that they had exercised less. Only four out of ten adults in the EU exercise regularly.
Gender and income have an influence
Women are less active than men in all age groups. The difference is clearest among 15-24 year olds. There, 73 percent of the men exercised at least once a week. For women, on the other hand, it is significantly less at 58 percent. Income has a similar impact. People who self-identified as working class exercised less (24 percent) than those with higher incomes (51 percent).
There are also big differences between EU countries. While in Finland two-thirds of adults exercise regularly, in other countries it is only one in five.
But more exercise would not only have advantages for your own health, but also for the state coffers: If everyone followed the recommendations of the WHO for more exercise, an average of 0.6 percent of health expenditure could be saved.