The data is according to the Eurobarometer of Sport and
Physical Activity published by the European Commission.
According to the data, 73% of Portuguese people say they
never exercise or practice sports, with 5% doing it only “rarely”, more than
those who do it “regularly”, 4%. “With some regularity” is the answer of 18% of
Portuguese respondents.
The data is particularly serious in the country, which has
the highest rate of the European countries covered by the study, followed by
Greece (68%) and Poland (65%). At the other extreme are the Finns, with 71% of
those interviewed in that country admitting to exercising or playing sport at
least once a week, but also Luxembourg (63%) and the Netherlands (60%).
This is the first Eurobarometer dedicated to Sport and
Physical Activity published since 2017, the date of the last edition, with 49%
of Europeans surveyed revealing that they maintain some type of physical or
sporting activity. The survey shows that 38% of Europeans exercise at least
once a week, 17% do it less often, and up to 45% do not do it at all.
The highest rates of activity are among the youngest,
between 15 and 24 years old, with more than half of Europeans in this age
group, 54%, doing exercise with “some regularity”, dropping to 42% between 25
and 24 years old aged 39 and 32% between 40 and 54. From 55 onwards, only 21%
say they exercise regularly.
Launched as part of the European Week of Sport, the
Eurobarometer shows “that it is important, vital, to continue and increase
efforts to promote physical activity, healthy lifestyles and universal values,
from gender equality to social inclusion, through sport” , reinforced the
European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth,
Mariya Gabriel.