bOUGE DE Là Two out of three people say they practice physical activity or sport regularly, according to an INSEE study published on Tuesday
Jogging is one of the most practiced sports by the French. — Canva
- According to an INSEE study published on Tuesday, two-thirds of people aged 15 or over had regular physical or sporting activity in 2020.
- Sporty walking, jogging, bodybuilding and cycling… The most accessible sports are popular.
- Regular physical activity or sport varies according to gender and social background.
The sedentary French? Not really at all; believe a study by INSEE published on Tuesday. According to this, in 2020, just before the Covid-19 crisis, 65 % of French people aged 15 or over could even be qualified as sportsmen, because they had practiced sports. at least 52 sessions of physical and sports activities during the year. And 54% of French people could even boast of having an activity. regular exercise or sport (twice a week or more) and 11% weekly.
A good level of French practice which has several explanations. “First of all, independent practice requiring little equipment and which can be practiced outside a club, has developed a lot in recent years ;”, according to Augustin Vicard, director of the National Institute of Youth and Popular Education (Injep). A trend also observed by Thierry Michot, teacher-researcher in sociology and sports management at the University. the University de Brest: “The club is rigour. However, more and more people no longer want rules imposed on them and find it more difficult to accept regularity. workouts. In addition, social networks have favored the rise of the independent practice of sport.” The tendency to Doing sports regularly is also due to another factor: “The increase in healthy life expectancy; allows more seniors to continue to practice an activity sport”, emphasizes Augustin Vicard.
“Displacement activities are on the rise”
Some sports are particularly popular with the French. In the first position, we find gymnastics, dance or fitness (bodybuilding, cardiotraining and yoga), practiced by 34% of people aged 15 or over who do a sport regularly. “Their success can be explained by the growing search among French people for everyday well-being,” comments Thierry Michot. Next come walking, running or athletics (which concern 25% of regular athletes) and cycling (18%). “For the past few years, travel activities have been on the rise. Because they allow you to have an activity; regular physical without it taking too long. The development of self-service bicycles has also played a major role,” emphasizes Thierry Michot.
Further down the rankings are racket or target sports (petanque, table tennis, badminton), aquatic and nautical activities and team sports. And if football represents the first sports federation in terms of number of members, it is only regularly played. than 6% of men, but only 1% of women. “Around 2 million people play club football, which is quite a lot. But if 10 % of college students are registered in a club, their practice decreases with age, either for a question of available time, or because young people want to discover other sports », observes Thierry Michot. “Some sports are practiced on a more occasional basis especially during holidays, such as table tennis, water activities, horse riding, skiing,” complete Augustin Vicard.
Women exercise less regularly
Still, not all French people are equal when it comes to regular sports practice. INSEE notes in particular that it is more common in men (71%) than in women (60%). Regular practice decreases sharply in particular among women between the ages of 25 and 35 and increases with age. again between 35 and 45 years old. “The presence of young children at home could explain this decrease which is not observed among men,” says Augustin Vicard. “The gendered distribution of tasks is still very present in our society”,” also underlines Thierry Michot, “Furthermore, we know that more women are working part-time and have fragmented schedules that do not encourage sports practice.”
There is also a social differentiation of sports practices. According to INSEE, the proportion of people belonging to privileged social categories is higher among those who exercise at least once a week (20 %) than among vacation sportsmen (13 ;%). Similarly, higher education graduates are over-represented among regular exercisers, while those with few or no qualifications are over-represented among vacation sports enthusiasts… “It’s due to economic reasons, as even practicing a sport independently requires a bit of equipment. And the supervised activities are not accessible to anyone. all”, says Thierry Michot. “Family transmission also plays an important role: more frequent practitioners more often have one or more sporting parents,” adds Augustin Vicard. Particularly inspiring data for the new sports minister, Am&élie Oudéa-Castéra, who made accessibility a priority. from sport to; all, one of his priorities.