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According to a barometer carried out this month of December, sport remains the French people’s number one resolution for the coming year. A necessity for many, when more than half of us complain about a more sedentary lifestyle than before, due to the covid crisis.
There will be sport (in France)! In any case, this is indicated by the latest barometer of the French Federation of Physical Education and Voluntary Gymnastics (FFEPGV) published in collaboration with the IPSOS institute on December 26th. Conducted on a panel of 2,000 people at the beginning of the month, this latest edition, the 11th of its kind, indeed indicates that 33% of those surveyed intend to practice regular physical activity in 2023. A resolution that even comes before the fact of spend more time with family (for 26%) and reserve real moments of relaxation (for 23%).
A sedentary lifestyle accentuated by the Covid crisis
If the desire to play sports may seem like a fixed idea every January 1st (to fade after), it is however this year driven by a reality of context: 6 out of 10 French people say they have a too sedentary lifestyle than before the crisis, which made it more difficult to practice physical activity. This observation is even more pronounced among women (66% against 56% of men), and among full-time employees (65%).
However, this sedentary lifestyle seems to play for many a harmful role on social life, physical well-being, fitness, and psychological well-being. Impacts of which the French are aware: 90% of people surveyed say they are affected by at least one of them.
The return to normal life and inflation disrupt sports practice
If the health crisis, the successive confinements and the rules of social distancing had made the French aware of the importance of the practice of physical activity on their physical well-being, the return to a “normal” life has turned upside down, it seems their habits. Thus, 66% of French people declare that they practice a physical activity, i.e., an almost perfect equality with the pre-health crisis (64% in 2019). However, this is less than in 2020 (81%) in the midst of the crisis.
Inflation also plays a role in the pursuit of this motivation: thus 34% of French people would have given up taking out or renewing a sports subscription for the year 2023 and 42% of parents say they have given up (at least once) on registering their child at a sporting event. An observation that it is useful to know to keep France in good shape.
“If COVID has raised awareness of the importance of practicing physical activity for our mental, physical and social well-being, there must be no turning back and we must support all French people by taking into account take into account each person’s needs or difficulties. As a Sport Health Federation, this is our mission… and it is also our conviction!” explains Marilyne Colombo, President of the FFEPGV in her press release.