Alarming results of the report: two out of five seniors in Poland do not undertake any physical activity

The level of physical activity in Poland decreases with age. While only 21% of people aged 18-24 remain physically inactive, among thirty-year-olds this percentage is 34%. There are more and more inactive people in other age groups. The worst situation is among people over 60, with 43% of them being inactive. In addition, respondents from this age group declare a significant negative impact of the pandemic on their physical health (31%) and mental health (37%).

The strongest motivator for taking up physical activity for people over 60 is health, indicated by 49% of active people. Only 35% of seniors exercise to support their psyche, although as many as 93% of them agree that physical activity helps to improve or maintain mental health. Better appearance and figure are the least important for people over 60. This motivator is indicated by only 3% of them (in the 25-29 age group it is important for 20% of the respondents).

During the pandemic, the number of walkers increased significantly. Walking is currently the most popular activity for seniors (52%), followed by cycling (29%) and swimming (7%). What is particularly important, in the group of adult respondents (18-60+), one in five physically active Poles currently choose training in a fitness club (20%). The MultiSport Index 2022 data also shows that still only 9% of seniors aged 60-64 follow the basic recommendations of the World Health Organisation and undertake at least 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity per week. Among people over 65 only 16% have a chance to meet the WHO recommendation, according to which people from this age group should perform a variety of exercises focusing on balance and muscle strength with moderate or greater intensity at least three times a week. – Additionally, it is worth remembering that we can engage in different activities. For 13% of physically active Poles the only form of exercise is walking which is usually not sufficient to effectively meet the WHO recommendations and cause beneficial changes for our health – emphasises Dr. Ernest Kuchar, sports medicine and infectious diseases expert from the Medical University of Warsaw.

According to the MultiSport Index 2022 report, among active seniors, one in five admits that they would like to exercise more often. – Research shows that as many as 47% of people over 60 would like to receive a sports card entitling them to use various sports and recreation facilities. And although classes for seniors are becoming more and more popular in sports facilities, such as fitness clubs, to start actively using them, support and motivation, mainly from family and friends, are necessary. It turns out that three out of five seniors (59%) say that it is their family and immediate surroundings that have the greatest influence on the popularisation of physical activity – comments Emilia Rogalewicz, Management Board Member at Benefit Systems, the creator of the MultiSport Senior sports card.

It is worth motivating all age groups to be active, because, as experts point out, the lack of exercise not only affects the psychophysical health of the society but also carries real costs. – A few years ago, the costs of hypokinesis, meaning low physical activity, among the inhabitants of our country were estimated at around EUR 2 billion a year, which was the equivalent of 8.4% of the national health expenditure. Meanwhile, if half of the physically inactive people started to move, Poland could save about PLN 500,000,000 on health care alone – Explains Dr. Małgorzata Gałązka-Sobotka, Director of the Healthcare Management Institute at the Lazarski University.