Malta has come out on top of the latest Eurobarometer survey – for all the wrong reasons.

The survey on physical activity found that over two-thirds of the Maltese (68%) have never done any vigorous exercise, and over a quarter do not even walk for 10 minutes a week.

Malta was in second place (78% behind Portugal with 79%) when it came to those least likely to have done any vigorous physical activity. Only 9% had done some form of vigorous physical activity on at least four of the last seven days, putting us in third place, and only 5% regularly engage in other physical activities, putting us as the top offender along with Italy and Portugal.

The Eurobarometer compared the current trends with those in 2013, which gave some slightly more encouraging news: the trend is reversing, and the number of people who never exercise or play sport has gone down by 19 percentage points, the largest drop of all the countries.

At least those that do exercise seem to be taking it more seriously, with an increase of six percentage points in those who exercise or play sport either regularly.

Lack of time is the most common reason mentioned in every EU member state for not practising sport more regularly (Malta 51%).

THE EU RESULTS

• Two in five Europeans (40%) exercise or play sport at least once a week, including 7% who do so regularly (at least five times per week). However, almost half of respondents (46%) never exercise or play sport.

•  Levels of participation have not changed substantially since 2013. However, the proportion of those who never exercise or play sport has increased from 42% to 46%, and this is a continuation of a gradual trend since 2009.

• Less than half of respondents (44%) do some form of other physical activity (such as cycling, dancing or gardening) at least once a week, while 35% never do this kind of activity at all.

• When asked about their levels of physical activity within a week, more than half of all respondents (58%) did not do any vigorous activity (+4pp since 2013) and 47% did not do any moderate physical activity (+3pp).

• Among those who do vigorous physical activity, the majority (54%) spend an hour or less per day doing so, while 43% of them spend more than an hour.

• Most EU citizens (61%) say they walked for at least ten minutes at a time on four or more of the last seven days. However, 15% did not walk for at least 10 minutes at a time on any day within a week. These figures are similar to those seen in 2013.

• On a usual day, around two thirds of respondents (69%) spend between 2.5 and 8.5 hours sitting, while 12% sit for more than 8.5 hours and 16% for no more than 2.5 hours.

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