Social disparities in sports and exercise participation in the European Union: a cross-sectional study in a population-representative sample of 25,434 adults

Abstract Purpose The aim of this study was to examine social disparities in sports and exercise participation among adults in the European Union (EU). Methods We analysed Eurobarometer 97.3 survey data on gender, age, marital status, employment, education, place of residence, socioeconomic status, household size, and sports and exercise participation frequency collected among 25,434 participants aged ≥ 18 years. Results The prevalence of no sports and exercise participation was 45.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 44.6%, 46.7%). In a multilevel ordinal logistic regression, sports and exercise participation was inversely associated with being a woman (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 0.72; 95% CI 0.69, 0.76), middle-aged (OR 0.48; 95% CI 0.45, 0.51) and older (OR 0.30; 95% CI 0.27, 0.32) adult, and married (OR 0.74; 95% CI 0.69, 0.80) and positively associated with employment (OR 1.11; 95% CI 1.04, 1.18), college/bachelor (OR 1.50; 95% CI 1.40, 1.60) and masters/doctoral (OR 2.10; 95% CI 1.92, 2.29) education, medium (OR 1.75; 95% CI 1.66, 1.85) and high (OR 2.57; 95% CI 2.32, 2.85) socioeconomic status, living in a large town (OR 1.10; 95% CI 1.02, 1.17), and living in a shared household (ORs 1.46– 1.59). Conclusion The EU should increase investments in physical activity promotion, because almost half of its adult residents do not participate in sports and exercise. Reducing disparities may require targeting women, middle-aged and older adults, married individuals, the unemployed, individuals with lower education or socioeconomic status, rural residents, and those living alone.