The corona pandemic has exacerbated the lack of exercise among adults in Germany.
This is the result of a survey by Techniker Krankenkasse, which was presented this Wednesday.
Michael Wittershagen
Responsible for sports in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sunday newspaper.
Follow I follow
According to this, about a third of Germans move too little and say they are active for less than half an hour a day.
Almost every second German (45 percent) never or only rarely does sport.
The corona effect is responsible for this.
The pandemic has not only changed the world of work, but also the sports habits of many people.
WHO recommends 150 minutes of activity per week
The home office in particular proves to be a movement killer.
56 percent of those surveyed stated that they move less there than at their actual workplace.
The main reasons for this are the lack of a commute to work (70 percent) and a lack of motivation (48 percent).
"Coming to work by bike is a very good way to get more exercise in everyday life, which has demonstrably positive effects on health without spending any more time," says sports scientist Oliver Quittmann from the German Sport University in Cologne.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently published worrying figures in its “Global Status Report on Physical Activity 2022”.
According to this, between 2020 and 2030 almost 500 million people worldwide are likely to develop cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, obesity, depression and dementia - also because they do not exercise enough.
While around 16 percent of people in poorer countries exercise too little, in high-income countries the average is more than 30 percent.
The WHO recommends at least 150 minutes of physical activity per week for adults to prevent diseases.
This includes not only intensive training, but also cycling and walking quickly.