A study suggests that Danish women with children have lower physical activity than those without children. A gap which can be explained by several factors, including the lack of time and childcare solutions.
Are women who have children at risk of poor health? A study to be published in the June issue of the journal Public Health and available online suggests that women with children have less physical activity than those without children.
To achieve this finding, a team of researchers from Denmark and the United Kingdom studied the results of the 2021 Danish National Health Survey. They analyzed data relating to the reported hours of physical activity of 9,338 women with children (46.6% of the sample) and 10,684 women without children (53.4% of the sample), aged 16 to 40. They then compared these statements to recommendations on the subject from the World Health Organization (WHO), a UN agency.
A notable difference
WHO recommendations are as follows: To be healthy, adults aged 18 to 64 should spend at least 150 to 300 minutes per week doing moderate-intensity endurance activity (walking, cycling, etc.). .), or practice at least 75 to 150 minutes of sustained intensity endurance activity (running, tennis, etc.), or a combination of the two. The WHO also recommends practicing muscle strengthening activities of moderate or greater intensity twice a week or more and limiting your sedentary time.
According to the study published in Public Health, the proportion of Danish women with children who did not follow WHO recommendations on physical activity was 24% higher than that of women without children. 63.8% of women with children did not engage in physical activity falling within this framework, compared to 51.3% of women without children. These proportions could be particularly high because the data were collected during the Covid-19 pandemic, as the researchers point out.
Fatigue, lack of time…
This difference may come from mothers’ difficulty finding time to play sports, the fatigue they experience, but also the “lack of social support and availability of childcare services”, according to the study. .
Globally, men have more physical activity than women, according to the WHO. In France, in 2015, 71% of men met the WHO recommendations for physical activity, compared to 53% of women, according to a study by Public Health France. A difference which can be explained by several factors.
“Around 25-30 years of age, a period of life when entry into the job market and the creation of a family are often combined, women’s sports practice can be constrained by a lack of time. In fact, women continue to dedicate spend more time than men on household and parental tasks”, highlighted for example the national statistics institute Insee in a study in 2017.
A public health issue
The researchers therefore recommend the implementation of public health policies aimed at promoting physical activity among mothers, but also the development of environments that encourage this activity, such as sports programs including childcare.
This is a public health issue, because regular physical activity “facilitates the prevention and management of non-communicable diseases, such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and several cancers” , according to the WHO. It also helps “prevent hypertension, maintain healthy body weight, and improve mental health, quality of life, and well-being.”
