Physical activity

Physical activity has both health-promoting and disease-prevention properties. An increase in physical activity would have a major positive impact on the health of the Swedish people.

Regular physical activity has a well-proven effect on a number of different diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, colon cancer and depression. Furthermore, physical activity improves immunity, fitness and muscle strength.

If everyone followed the advice of a minimum of 30 minutes of exercise daily, in the form of a brisk walk for instance, the health of the Swedish population would improve considerably and healthcare costs would drop dramatically.

Mainly the activity level in leisure time and the quality of leisure time have been shown to be of significance to how one feels with regard to physical capacity, general health, social skills and emotional and mental health. A common recommendation is 30 minutes of physical activity per day. The physical activity should be regular and feel somewhat strenuous. The greatest risk of illness results from being sedentary during leisure time.

The question of “how many hours in a normal week do you do moderately strenuous activities that make you warm?” is intended to measure how much time is spent on moderately strenuous activities. The objective is to be able to see how large a proportion of the population achieves 30 minutes of activity a day (3.5 hours/week).