Read the article:
The paper is peer-reviewed and published in the scientific journal Forum for Idræt: Den organiserede idræts betydning for fysisk aktivitet under Corona (in Danish).
The paper is peer-reviewed and published in the scientific journal Forum for Idræt: Den organiserede idræts betydning for fysisk aktivitet under Corona (in Danish).
What is the study about?
The analyses are based on data from the questionnaire survey of Danes' movement habits under the research project ‘Danmark i Bevægelse’. In October and November 2020, just over 163,000 citizens - 15 years and older - answered a questionnaire, which included questions about the extent to which the level of physical activity was greater or less in comparison with before Corona.
The theoretical starting point for the analyses is that sports participation and physical activity depend on the opportunities and activity alternatives for being physically active as well as the individual's social and socioeconomic background and associated motives and interests for doing sports and being physically active. The analyses show that the changes in the level of physical activity in leisure time depended partly on the types of movement practiced by the individual, partly on gender, age and socio-economic background.
Citizens who were active in sports and exercise in their leisure time, and who practiced activities with a high degree of organization and facility dependence, had on average a lower level of physical activity than citizens who also or exclusively practiced self-organized activities. Young people and citizens with higher education had to a greater extent become more physically active in their leisure time during Corona than other groups, which is explained by the fact that these groups have broader movement experiences than other socio-economic groups, and that the changes in working life with more work from home than before Corona gave them better opportunities to practice self-organized sports and exercise in their leisure time.
Main conclusions:
- Corona created both worse and better opportunities to be physically active.
- Corona affected organized sports and exercise in clubs and fitness centers, but this had a small impact on the level of physical activity.
- It is easier to maintain physical activity levels if you have experience with different forms of movement and different forms of organization of exercise when the conditions for practicing sports and exercise as usual change.
- It was especially the most vulnerable groups – early retirement pensioners and cash benefit recipients – who became less physically active in their free time during Corona, while it was especially the young and citizens with higher education who increased their physical activity levels.
Published: 2021.
Authors:
Bjarne Ibsen and Jens Høyer-Kruse, University of Southern Denmark.
Bjarne Ibsen and Jens Høyer-Kruse, University of Southern Denmark.
Support:
Nordea-fonden and University of Southern Denmark.
Contact:
Bjarne Ibsen, bibsen@health.sdu.dk.
Bjarne Ibsen, bibsen@health.sdu.dk.