A pan-EU survey on consumer attitudes to physical activity, body-weight and health

Summary:

A pan-EU consumer attitudinal survey was carried out to describe the attitudes to physical activity, body-weight and health across the 15 member states of the EU and to explore the influence of socio-cultural factors, physical activity levels and body-weight status on these attitudes.

The design of the study involved a cross-sectional study in which quota-controlled nationally representative samples of approximately 1,000 adults (15 years upwards) were selected from each member state to complete the interview-assisted face-to-face questionnaire.

Based on the data arising from this pan-EU consumer attitudinal survey some strategy recommendations to increase levels of physical activity in the EU are proposed :

• Increase awareness of the health benefits of physical activity irrespective of body-weight.
• Increase awareness that physical activity means all sorts of activities such as gardening, walking, dancing, golf, football etc. and not just "sport". This means conveying the message that most of the health benefits of physical activity are gained by moving from a sedentary lifestyle to one with a moderate level of daily physical activity.

Promote the concept of physical activity to relieve stress and increase awareness among employers and trade unions that the work/study environment should promote and facilitate increased physical activity.

Ensure that health professionals understand the benefits of physical activity and have access to appropriate advice to promote increased physical activity and provide quantitative advice on options for increasing physical activity targeted at specific sub-groups in the population.