Europeans are less 'sporty' than their American counterparts 

As most Europeans probably know, Greece and Portugal did not stop running to emerge as the top two teams of Euro 2004. But perhaps fewer Europeans would be so aware that a Eurobarometer survey in November 2003 showed that the two countries also have the 'laziest' inhabitants in Europe. Bottom of the pile come the Greeks, only 19 per cent of whom practise a sport at least once a week. Not much better are the Portuguese, 22 per cent of whom are 'sporty' at least once a week. By comparison, the 'fitness freaks' are the Finns and Swedes, 70 per cent of whom are actively engaged in sport once a week or more. The survey shows that one in three citizens from the EU-15 do sport on a weekly basis (35%).

A recent Candidate Countries Eurobarometer survey carried out by Gallup suggests that the citizens of the ten EU newcomers are somewhat sportier than the 'old' Member States. Forty percent in the newly joined countries say they exercise regularly, with Slovenes the fittest in the enlarged Europe. Indeed, as many as 83 per cent of them work out at least twice a week.

Now compare that with the US. Another Gallup poll shows that exactly half of Americans (50%) exercise at least three times a week. The same figure in the EU-15 countries is only 15%, indicating a huge gap across the Atlantic. "As surprising as it may seem, it appears that most Europeans are much less inclined to do sports than to watch TV (88%) at least three times a week - whereas Americans often combine the two activities," says Gergely Hideg, Senior Research Director, Gallup Europe.

Hideg goes on to say that "of course, life expectancies and mortality figures are not dramatically different in the US and the EU-15 region, which indicates that other health-relevant behaviours (more balanced diet, less stress, more leisure time, etc.) compensate for the relative lack of regular physical exercise in Europe". However, Europeans would like sports to be more present in their lives. A large majority hope for improved co-operation among their national educational networks and the sports associations (80%). They would also like sports to take a greater stance in education (68%).

A whole range of projects are ongoing throughout Europe in 2004, the European Year of Education through Sport. In July EU leaders finally agreed to include sport in the Constitution, the first time that there has been an explicit reference to sport in an EU treaty.