Burden of Sport Injuries in the European Union - Safety in Sports

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3 | February 2012
Therefore, physical exercise is seen as a promising strategy for improving public
health (Cavill et al. 2006). As sport in particular is associated with regular training
and targeted exertion, it plays an important role in the strategy of promoting health
enhancing physical activities. Also the “White Paper on Sport” (Commission of the
European Communities 2007) highlights that sport is a valuable tool for enhancing
health, in particular for reducing the risk of overweight, cardio-vascular diseases,
and diabetes. Diseases due to lack of activity are a severe burden on the health system
and economy, as well as a source of diminishment of quality of life.
The need for physical exercise as a condition for health is obviously already well
known and understood by the general public. Zunft et al. (1999) report, that improving
health is the most important reason for people over the age of 55 for doing sport.
There are various motives for active people for engaging in sport or other physical
activity as to improve fitness, to enhance personal appearance, to develop physical
performance, to relax, to have fun, to be with friends and the enjoyment of doing
sport, but the leading motive is improving health. Zunft et al. report that 42% of the
participants of their survey reported that their main reason to do sport is to maintain
good health, 30% to release tension and 30% to improve fitness. The recent Eurobarometer
study on sport (2010) confirms these findings: 61% of respondent mention
improving health as motive. But there are significant interstate differences in the intended
personal benefits of sport. While 55% of the Spanish people do sport to maintain
good health, only 21% of Portuguese people do so; 41% of Italian citizens get
active for releasing tension but only 16% of the Swedish citizens mention this as motive;
36% of the Swedish people do sport to improve fitness and only 8 % of the Portuguese
do so.
Weight control is another motive. In general, citizens of the European Union have the
opinion that continuous sportive activity is good for preventing obesity. Goldberg
and King (2007) ascertained that physical activity is an important component of effective
personal weight management. For achieving a measurable impact a person
needs to be active at least for half an hour a day with at least modest intensity. Although
for only 13% of the active Europeans weight control is a leading motive (Zunft
et al 1999), obese women report regularly to use sport for weight management.
These motives reflect assumptions or knowledge about the general benefits of sport.
On the other hand the factual participation of a person depends also on assumptions
about how far the generally achievable benefits can be factually realized by this concrete
person.