More Europeans Lack Exercise and Participation in

Sports, Study Says

More than 50 percent of people in the European Union seldom do exercise or participate in any sports activity, according to figures published by a Eurobarometer survey conducted in 2009.

Moreover, 42 percent of those respondents stated they never take part.

On the other hand, another 42 percent of those respondents state that they do exercise, but only at least once a week.

This result means more than half of them don't engage in physical

activity, which has further supported the previously-

published results by an independent study that there was

a 70 percent increase of overweight people aged 21-50

years old.

This study came after an increase in the rate of health conditions pertaining to being overweight in the EU.

The respondents come from different EU nations, including the United Kingdom, Denmark, Sweden, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Finland and Bulgaria, among many others.

The survey also revealed the different lifestyles of both male and female respondents of the study.

Around 74 percent of males ages 15-24 engage in physical activity, while only 55 percent of females do so.

This led to more speculations about the how health-conscious women are in the region.

Another startling discovery found in the survey was that lifestyles often vary between countries.

In Sweden, for example, around 70% of citizens from Scandinavian countries like Finland, Denmark and

Sweden are likely to exercise at least once a week.

Meanwhile, further south, around 70% of respondents from Bulgaria, Portugal and Italy claim they do not

exercise.

Androulla Vassilou, the European commissioner for sport, says that, "the results of the survey confirm the need for more measures to encourage people to exercise and make it a part of their daily routine”.

He encourages sports marketing practitioners to market sport not only as an entertainment product, but a way for people to have a healthy lifestyle.

"This is very important, not only for one's health and well-being, but also for the economical benefits one gets from doing exercise," Vassilou says.

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