A special survey conducted on behalf of the European Commission shows that while 41% of European citizens exercise or play sport at least once a week, a worrying 59% of respondents say that they never or seldom do so.
The number of people saying they never exercise or play sport has increased by 3% compared with the last survey of this nature conducted in 2009 (from 39% to 42%).
The findings show large differences among 28 Member States, with northern European countries appearing more physically active than the south and east.
The UK generally fares better than the EU-wide average in most areas examined in the study, but it still lags well behind countries like Denmark and Sweden which consistently demonstrated the highest levels of participation in sport and physical activity.
The survey also shows that one fifth of EU citizens do not think they are provided with enough opportunities to be physically active.
However, 36% of respondents totally agreed and 38% tended to agree that many opportunities to be active are provided by their local sports clubs and fitness providers.
The full report provides greater detail. There is also a UK factsheet highlighting some of the key findings from the study.
The Sport and Recreation Alliance and the physical activity sector have published an open letter to the Government on the impact of Pathways to Work on disabled people and activity levels across the UK.
Read moreHere, we seek to update you on some of the key workstreams we’re focused on, as well as provide an overview of the ways in which you, our members, can foster more inclusive, equitable, and diverse environments for your organisations, including advertising some of the training options we provide (at discount!) and job postings too.
Read moreHere is an end-of-week wrap on some key workstreams we’re undertaking for you, our members, that we want to bring to your attention. It covers a number of important pieces of information for consideration or action.
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