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Sluggish fitness: The couch potatoes must still be lying around here somewhere...
Photo: Herbert Boekhoff / Zoonar / picture alliance
According to a health insurance survey, almost a third of people in Germany feel less fit than before the corona pandemic.
Just under a fifth describe themselves as fitter, according to the “Fitness 2022” study by the pronova BKK health insurance company.
Compared to the time before the corona pandemic, 19 percent of people consider themselves fitter, 51 percent as about the same fit as before the pandemic and 30 percent as less fit.
According to the study, men in particular are currently attesting to a relatively high level of fitness – namely 31 percent of them.
For women it is 15 percent and thus only about half as many as for men.
Overall – i.e. women and men together – 23 percent stated their fitness as high or very high, 52 percent as moderate and 25 percent as low or not at all.
Against this background, pronova BKK comes to the conclusion that the physical fitness of German citizens is »just about mediocre«.
Other studies by pronova BKK had shown that women in particular suffered from the pandemic and felt worn out between homeschooling and working from home.
"They hardly had any time to think about a sports program," says Gerd Herold, consultant doctor at pronova BKK.
Those who were already athletic became even more athletic
As the health insurance company explains, those who currently consider themselves sporty say they have used the pandemic for themselves: almost four out of ten fit people have increased their performance to today's level in the past two years.
Conversely, Herold explained that anyone who had not previously been particularly active in sports found an additional reason to give in to their weaker self through the closed fitness center.
The "Fitness 2022" study was carried out in January 2022 on behalf of pronova BKK.
Nationwide, 1,000 adults aged 18 and over were surveyed online.
The questions as worded: »In this survey, we understand fitness to mean good physical condition and performance that is achieved or improved through sporting activities.
Against this background, how would you rate your current personal fitness level on a scale from 0 (not fit at all) to 10 (extremely fit at competitive sports level in my age group)?" And: "To what extent has your fitness level changed compared to the time before the corona pandemic changes?"
mamk/dpa
