Sedentary lifestyle: 41% of French people think they sit too long during the day

“Adults aged 18 to 64 should engage in at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity endurance activity each week or engage in at least 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity endurance activity or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity activity throughout the week.” That’s what World Health Organization (WHO) has been recommending for years. Problem: in France, not all citizens reach these recommendations, because they are not active enough and too sedentary.

In order to reach this conclusion, Public Health France conducted a study to determine knowledge of these tips and their associated factors and to analyze the links between attainment and knowledge of the recommendations. To do this, they used data from the 2021 Public Health Barometer in France, namely a survey conducted on a random sample of the population residing in France. The analysis focused on 4,571 adults aged 18 to 75 who were questioned about their knowledge of physical activity and its intensity as well as a sedentary lifestyle.

Physical activity: 76.4% of men and 60.8% of women meet WHO recommendations

In 2021, the sports recommendation is partially known. According to the results, 96.7% of participants cite at least 30 minutes of physical activity per day to be healthy, but only less than a quarter cite the right recommended intensity. In detail, 22.3% of people say that exercise should cause shortness of breath, 33.6% that it should be without shortness of breath, 42.3% “no matter the intensity” and 1.8% say they don’t know. “Overall, 21.6% of adults say it is necessary to do at least 30 minutes of physical activity per day with shortness of breath, as recommended. Men are almost twice as likely as women to cite this recommendation.”

On the practical side, 68.4% of French people, more precisely 76.4% of men and 60.8% of women, say they do sport according to the recommendations. Among men, after adjustment for age and education, no association is observed between practicing the recommended physical activity and knowledge of the recommendation. On the other hand, among women, knowledge increases the probability of doing sport. The level of education above the baccalaureate is also positively associated with practicing recommended physical activity.

23.8% of adults report spending more than seven hours sitting per day on weekdays

Regarding sedentary lifestyle, 93.9% of volunteers indicated a frequency of breaking sedentary lifestyle corresponding to the recommendation to get up at least every two hours to walk a little in case of prolonged time spent sitting. Three-quarters of adults think that it is recommended to break sedentary lifestyle more often than every two hours. This recommendation is more cited by adults with a level of education higher than the baccalaureate.

According to Public Health France, 41% of citizens think they sit too long during the day. In detail, 23.8% of adults say they spend more than seven hours sitting per day during the week, corresponding to a high level of sedentary lifestyle. “A negative association between high sedentary behavior and age is observed in those under 45, with the youngest being the most sedentary. Individuals with a high level of income and students also have a higher probability of having a significant sedentary behavior,” can be read in the works. Problem: 36.5% of very sedentary people say they do not have the possibility of reducing the daily time spent sitting.

In its conclusions, the health authority points out that these results show the need to provide more educational explanations on the practice of physical activity, the notion of the intensity of sport and the health benefits.