HEALTH – As the Paris 2024 Olympics approach and France prepares to welcome the best athletes in the world, the French still do not do enough sport. Published this Tuesday, June 11, the Public Health France barometer on physical activity and sedentary lifestyle in France reveals significant inequalities between different French regions.
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The WHO recommends 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week, or at least 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity, or a combination of both. Muscle strengthening is also recommended at least twice a week, according to Santé Publique France, whose barometer covers 2021 data.
Brittany and Occitanie on the podium
On the podium of the most active regions, Brittany and Occitanie stand out with a frequency of physical activity significantly higher than the national level. This first place is explained by social indicators “ very supportive “, notably the ” lowest unemployment rate, high median standard of living, among the lowest poverty rates » according to INSEE data cited by Santé Publique France.
Île-de-France and the north-east of France, on the other hand, perform less well. This result is due to a more sedentary lifestyle in large cities. “Promoting active lifestyles in urban areas, making the environment attractive and dynamic, particularly for young people, and creating alternatives to prolonged sedentary work are all ways of combating the lack of physical activity and increasing sedentary lifestyle. »
Women impacted by family life
The differences are not only geographical, and achieving physical activity recommendations is also linked to age or educational level. The professional situation must also be taken into account for men; unemployment reduces their physical activity. Women are more impacted by the structure of their household: it is family life that reduces their activity.
Overall, only 73% of men aged 18 to 85 met the World Health Organization’s recommendations for physical activity in 2021, compared to 59% of women in the same age group. Regarding muscle strengthening objectives, these are achieved by less than a third of men in France (31.1%) and less than a quarter of women (20.2%).
If the figures allow us to better understand the disparities in the country, the limitations of the study must also be taken into consideration since it is based on questionnaires and therefore faces certain biases, specifies the report.
1 in 5 French people sit more than 7 hours a day
In addition to a lack of physical activity, the figures also reveal that the French are particularly sedentary. More than one in five adults in France reported spending more than seven hours a day sitting and nearly four in ten (39%) more than three hours a day in front of a screen for leisure purposes alone, the researchers note.
Overall, 8.6% of men and 9.9% of women combine insufficient physical activity and a high sedentary lifestyle. “ Generally speaking, these data highlight the lack of physical activity in the daily lives of French people (and particularly French women) and the need to act in favor of changing lifestyles to include more movement.,” conclude the authors of the study.
The only good point: more than nine out of ten adults said they get up at least every two hours when sitting for prolonged periods, thus respecting the recommendations against excessive sedentary lifestyle. The study notes, however, that new recommendations would recommend more frequent breaks from a sedentary lifestyle, in particular every twenty minutes.
So hoping that the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will bring physical activity back into fashion.
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