Map of physical inactivity in the EU

Worryingly, the results of the 2018 Eurobarometer survey on sport and physical activity show that nearly half of respondents (46 %) never exercise or play sport – up 7 % from 2009 – (see Figure 1). Moreover, the WHO estimates that a quarter of European adults and four-fifths of European adolescents are insufficiently active. It also reveals that each year, physical inactivity claims over 500 000 lives across Europe and generates €80.4 billion in economic costs for the EU-28. This amount represents 6.2 % of all European health spending, €5 billion more than the annual global spend on cancer drugs, and half of Ireland or Portugal’s annual GDP. Conservative estimates put the annual cost of physical inactivity in 2030 at over €125 billion (in 2012 prices).