Eurobarometer statistics have been published: we are also late in “physical activity outside of sport” and especially among the Over 55s. Among the motivations of those who remain still there is “lack of time”
Valerio Piccioni
01 October
Fourth in the European Union in the medal table of the Tokyo Olympics, eighteenth (or twenty-first if we also take into account those who train once a week) in the rankings of sports practice. There is a double-speed Italy that the Eurobarometer statistics published last September 19 show ruthlessly. We are 4 points away from the European average: 34 Italians aged 15 and over practice sport “regularly” or “regularly”, compared to 38 citizens of the European Union. However, the gap widens if we add those who take into account even those who play sports “rarely”, here the whole of Europe is 11 percentage points ahead. There are 56 out of 100 “non-sportsmen” in Europe, 45 in Europe. And even in the field of some “physical activity outside of sport” we are far away: they travel by bicycle, go dancing, garden 33 Italians out of 100 while in Europe this figure rises to 50 percent.
GOLD IN FINLAND
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In the ranking of “never sport or rarely” only six nations out of 27 are worse off than us: black jersey for Portugal, then Greece, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary. But which are the most sporting countries in Europe? As many as 71 Finns out of 100 do sport “regularly” (ie every day) or “regularly” (4-5 times a week). If Helsinki is the most sporting capital, immediately after there are Luxembourg (63), Holland (60, which is also a leader in the field of physical activities outside of sport thanks to the large use of bicycles), then on par with Sweden and Denmark. (59). The most populated nations are very close (43 Germany, 42 Spain, which is the leader in the “walks”, 41 France) with a significant advantage over the 34 Italians. Holland has another record: the female practice touches on the male one. In Italy, the “never sport or rarely” includes 62 men and 70 women out of 100. And compared to Europe, we suffer a delay among the over 55: in this segment as many as 83 (73 in the Europe of 27) men and 86 women (75 in the rest of the EU) out of 100 do not play sports or do it rarely.
HEALTH AND PARKS
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However, there is a positive sign in the Italian data. Compared to 5 years ago, “sportsmen” earn six percentage points (from 28 to 34 percent). In Europe, however, we are less than 2 on 2017, an alarming figure. The investigation also breaks down sports practice by places: in Italy it goes a lot, also for climatic reasons obviously outdoor activities and in parks while we are very detached in sports practice “at home”. Instead, we are frequenters of sports centers (20 per cent, Europe is 8). In Italy sports are practiced to improve health (54%), be in better shape (43%), relax (39%), while we are ten points below the European average on “having fun” (17 against 27%). And the reasons for those who don’t do sports? The “does not have the time” reaches 40 percent, the “lack of motivation” and 27, while the “too expensive” is at 10. As for Covid, Italy has paid much more than the rest of Europe the stop for the virus: only 18 percent of Italians are back physically active as before, compared to 34 of other Europeans. A striking difference.
01 October 2022 – 22:02
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