A follow-up study conducted at the University of Eastern Finland shows that the resources used by municipalities for physical activity do not automatically increase physical activity. More than resources, individual factors influence the behavior of physical activity. The most educated and the healthiest are engaged in physical activity in their free time more than the less educated or those with poorer health. Men did more physical activity during their free time than women, while women did more physical activity on the go.
The emphasis on the importance of individual factors suggests that even the best facilities and possibilities for physical activity do not make people physically active if they do not have their own personal motivation and interest in physical activity. In Finland, the infrastructure for physical activity is already so complete that simply increasing resources does not automatically increase residents’ physical activity. “
Virpi Kuvaja-Köllner, PhD researcher
The study also showed that daily commuting physical activity was lower in rural municipalities than in cities.
“This is explained by the fact that distances to rural areas are often longer, and public transport is less available than in cities, so travel is often done by car itself. In cities, the travel can be combined with cycling or walking and, if necessary, public transport ”.
According to Kuvaja-Köllner, the results of the study published in the prestigious journal BMC Public Health give reasons to consider how municipal resources for physical activity and sports should be allocated in order to better promote physical activity among residents.
An eleven-year follow-up survey combined data from Statistics Finland and the 2000 and 2011 Health Population Surveys. In this study, only people with the same place of residence were followed in 2000 and 2011. 3,193 people of 115 municipalities answered questions about physical activity in their free time and 1,394 people from 110 municipalities answered questions about physical activity of displacement. The indicators of sports resources and environment of the municipalities were the amount of euros spent by the municipalities on sports, the kilometers of pedestrian and bicycle lanes, the area of parks and the number of sports entities that received subsidies on years 1999 and 2010.
Source:
University of Eastern Finland
Magazine reference:
Kuvaja-Köllner, V., et al. (2022) Municipal resources to promote adult physical activity – a multilevel follow-up study. BMC Public Health. doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-13617-8.