Hours of work, responsibility, autonomy in labor and practice of physical-sports activity of the European population

Abstract

The European population practice insufficient physical-sports activity. A possible influential factor is work activity. This paper intends to know the association between compliance with WHO recommendations and labour variables, using data from the European Social Survey with a sample of 18,240 active workers from 20 countries. The results demonstrate that people who worked less hours were physically more active. In the same way, women and people with low incomes were more negatively affected by long work days. The geographical area, incomes and age were more conditioning for physical activity than work hours. Finally, the independence to organize daily work could contribute to a higher level of practice in women.