Running, outdoor walking or other physical exercises that increase breathing activity and heart rate are a favorite sport for most Albanians, unlike other European countries. According to Eurostat and INSTAT figures compiled by Monitor, it results that Albanian women and men have the highest percentage of inactivity in Europe. 82% of women and 76% of men do no physical activity during a normal week, according to INSTAT. On average about 80% of the population in the country is inactive. While the European average of women and men doing no physical activity is much lower, at 28.6% and 26%, respectively, according to Eurostat reported data for 2017.
In Europe, Romanians and Estonians are the most active, with only 3.9% and 4.7% of the population not doing any physical activity. Then come the Danes, the Dutch, the Germans, the Swedes, the Finns.
Balkans in general are known for laziness. After Albania, Serbs are on the list, with 76% of the population not performing any physical activity, followed by Macedonians (56%).
Exercises by age groups and cities, Durrs just stick
To assess the level of aerobic exercise during a typical week, Albanian respondents were asked: In a normal week, do you do activities such as walking, biking, yoga, or other things that increase your breathing and heart rate? In total, only 12% of women aged 15-49 reported doing some form of aerobic exercise 5-7 times a week, 4% doing it 3 or 4 times a week, 3% doing it once or twice a week, and 82 % don't do any kind of aerobic exercise. Among men of the same age group, 11% exercised 5 to 7 times a week, 7% exercised 1 to 4 times a week, and 76% did no aerobic exercise. The survey was conducted by Instat on behalf of the Institute of Public Health.
79.6% of women in the city and 84% of those in the village in Albania do no aerobic exercise per week, according to INSTAT. For men, this percentage is slightly lower, but remains the highest in Europe. 74% of men in urban and 78% in rural areas do not exercise during the week. According to age groups, the youngest are the most active, with 73% of women aged 15 to 19 not doing physical activity, versus 85% of those aged 30-34. In males, 15-19 year olds are still the most active (even for doing school education), with 63% not doing so, compared to the lazy ones in the 30-34 age group. According to the frequency, among the females, the most frequent are 15-19 year olds, 16% of whom are active 5-7 times a week. While men are 40-44 years old, 13.5% of whom do physical activity 5-7 times a week.
According to cities, the most lazy are Durres men, 94.6% of whom do not practice any exercise during the week. The most active are tyrants (61.9%), even about 18% of them are exercised 5-7 times a week. Of the women, Tirana is still the leader, with the lowest percentage of inactive girls and women, with 71.9% of the total (nearly 19% of them exercising 5-7 times a week, the highest in the republic), while lazy are the durrs again, with 96% of them resulting in no physical exercise during the week.
According to the PHI report, regular exercise gives beneficial effects to the heart as well as the whole body. Accumulating evidence suggests that the magnitude of these benefits increases proportionally to the intensity of individual exercise, and it has been found that regular exercise may reduce the dysfunction of the heart itself and, at least in part, restore its ability to function effectively as pump. Similarly, the literature suggests that exercise and physical activity have beneficial effects on mental health. Consequently physical activity has a positive impact on productivity and productivity at work.
Source: Monitor
