The Social and Economic Importance of Sports
Abstract
Sports participation does not produce benefits solely on a personal level but also numerous benefits on different societal levels, as well as the level of economies. The paper represents a contribution to the exploration of factors of individuals influencing regularity in sports participation. A logistic regression model was used based on the data from the Eurobarometer special survey from 2018. According to the findings, middle-aged men are the most likely to regularly participate in sports activities and individuals with active socio- professional status are also more likely to practice regular sports activities than individuals who are passive. The same is true for individuals living in less urbanised areas and those with positive life satisfaction compared to those living in urban areas or those who are not satisfied with their life. The results of our research are important for economic policymakers both at the national and regional levels, as well as at the level of individual municipalities. They facilitate the management of sports activities of individuals but are limited to a smaller number of factors with measurement specifics. Suggestions for further research are also presented.
Downloads
References
Ács, P., Kovács, A., Paár, D., Hoffbauer, M., Szabó, P., Szabó, T., & Stocker, M. (2020). Comparative analysis of the economic burdens of physical inactivity in Hungary between 2005 and 2017. BMC Public Health, 20(S1). DOI: 10.1186/s12889-020-08478-y.
Ács, P., Stocker, M., Füge, K., Paár, D., Oláh, A., & Kovács, A. (2016). Economic and public health benefits: The result of increased regular physical activity. European Journal of Integrative Medicine, 8, 8–12. DOI: 10.1016/j.eujim.2016.11.003.
Andersen, M. H., Ottesen, L., & Thing, L. F. (2019). The social and psychological health outcomes of team sport participation in adults: An integrative review of research. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 47(8), 832-850. DOI: 10.1177/1403494818791405.
Coughlan, D., Saint-Maurice, P. F., Carlson, S. A, & Matthews, C. E. (2021). Leisure time physical activity throughout adulthood is associated with lower medicare costs: evidence from the linked NIH-AARP diet and health study cohort. BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine, 7(1). DOI: 10.1136/bmjsem-2021-001038.
Data.europa.eu (2018). Special Eurobarometer 472: Sport and physical activity. Directorate-General for Communication. Retrieved from http://data.europa.eu/88u/dataset/s2164_88_4_472_eng.
De Boer, W. I. J., Dekker, L. H., Koning, R. H., Navis, G. J, & Mierau, J. O. (2020). How are lifestyle factors associated with socioeconomic differences in health care costs? Evidence from full population data in the Netherlands. Preventive Medicine, 130. DOI: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2019.105929.
Downward, P., Lera-López, F., & Rasciute, S. (2014). The correlates of sports participation in Europe. European Journal of Sport Science, 14(6), 592–602. DOI: 10.1080/17461391.2014.880191.
European Commission (2018). Special Eurobarometer Report 472: Sports and physical activity. Retrieved from https://www.europarc.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Special-Eurobarometer-472-Sports-and-physical-activity.pdf
European Commission (n.d. a). Sport - About sport in the EU. Retrieved from https://sport.ec.europa.eu/sport-in-the-eu. European Commission (n.d. b). Sport and society. Retrieved at https://sport.ec.europa.eu/policies/sport-and-society.
European Commission (n.d. c). Physical activity and health. Retrieved at https://sport.ec.europa.eu/policies/sport-and-society/physical-activity-and-health.
European Union (2008). EU Physical Activity Guidelines. Brussels: European Union. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/assets/eac/sport/library/policy_documents/eu-physical-activity-guidelines-2008_en.pdf.
European Union (2018). Sports Statistics 2018 edition. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/4031688/8716412/KS-07-17-123-EN-N.pdf/908e0e7f-a416-48a9-8fb7-d874f4950f57?t-1520415140000.
European Union (2019). EU sports policy – Going faster, aiming higher, reaching further. European Parliament. Retrieved from https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2019/640168/EPRS_BRI(2019)640168_EN.pdf.
European Union (2020). European Health Survey (EHIS wave 3) Methodological manual, Re-edition, 2020 edition. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/3859598/10820524/KS-01-20-253-EN-N.pdf/2d66d5d7-b966-38ba-881a-a8f4b6d3f5e0?t-1588680461000.
Eurostat (2020). International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED). Retrieved from: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=International_Standard_Classification_of_Education_(ISCED)#Implementation_of_ISCED_2011_.28levels_of_education.29
Eurostat (2022). Statistics on sport participation. Retrieved from: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Statistics_on_sport_participation.
Hallmann, K.,& Breuer, C.(2014).The influence of socio-demographic indicators economic determinants and social recognition on sport participation in Germany. European Journal of Sport Science, 14(sup1). DOI: 10.1080/17461391.2012.704078.
Hautbois, C., Djaballah, M., & Desbordes, M. (2020). The social impact of participative sporting events: A cluster analysis of Marathon participants based on perceived benefits.Sport in Society,23(2),335–353.DOI: 10.1080/17430437.2019.1673371.
Hoekman, R., Breedveld, K., & Kraaykamp, G. (2016). Sport participation and the social and physical environment: Explaining differences between urban and rural areas in the Netherlands.Leisure Studies,1–14.DOI: 10.1080/02614367.2016.1182201.
Hovemann, G., & Wicker, P. (2009). Determinants of sport participation in the European Union. European Journal for Sport and Society, 6(1), 51–59. DOI: 10.1080/16138171.2009.11687827.
Kokolakakis, T., Lera-López, F., & Panagouleas, T. (2012). Analysis of the determinants of sports participation in Spain and England. Applied Economics, 44(21), 2785–2798. DOI: 10.1080/00036846.2011.566204.
Laczkó, T., Makai, A., Prémusz, V., Ács, P., & Paár, D. (2020). A comparison of sporting activities across the Visegrad Group countries. Health Problems of Civilization, 14(3), 199–210. DOI: 10.5114/hpc.2020.98444.
Ley, C. (2020). Participation motives of sport and exercise maintainers: Influences of age and gender. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(21), 7830. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17217830.
Magno, F., ten Caten, C. S., Reppold Filho, A. R., Callegaro, A. M., & Ferreira, A. de. (2020). Factors related to sports participation in Brazil: An analysis based on the 2015 national household survey. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(17), 6011. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17176011.
Mills, K., Dudley, D., & Collins, N. J. (2019). Do the benefits of participation in sport and exercise outweigh the negatives? An academic review, Best Practice & Research Clinical Rheumatology, 30(1), 172-187. DOI: 10.1016/j.berh.2019.01.015.
Mutz, M., Reimers, A. K., & Demetriou, Y. (2020). Leisure Time Sports Activities and Life Satisfaction: Deeper insights based on a representative survey from Germany. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 16(5), 2155–2171. DOI: 10.1007/s11482-020-09866-7.
Official Journal of the European Union (2013). Council recommendation of 26 November 2013 on promoting health- enhancing physical activity across sectors (2013/C 354/01). Retrieved from: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2013:354:0001:0005:EN:PDF.
Ruseski, J. E., Humphreys, B. R., Hallman, K., Wicker, P., & Breuer, C. (2014). Sport Participation and Subjective Well-Being: Instrumental Variable Results from German Survey Data. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 11(2), 396–403. DOI: 10.1123/jpah.2012-0001.
Sato, M., Inoue,Y., Du, J.,& Funk, D. C.(2019).Access to parks and recreational facilities, physical activity, and health care costs for older adults: Evidence from U.S.countries.Journal of Leisure Research,50(3),220-238.DOI: 10.1080/00222216.2019.1583048.
Schüttoff, U., Pawlowski, T., & Lechner, M. (2021). Die ökonomische Analyse des individuellen Sporttreibens. In Güllich, A., and Krüger, M. (Eds.), Sport in Kultur Und Gesellschaft: Handbuch Sport und Sportwissenschaft, pp. 661–677. Heildelberg: Springer, Spektrum.
Szczepaniak, M. (2020). Public sport policies and health: comparative analysis across European Union countries. Journal of Physical Education and Sport, 20(sup2), 1022-1030. DOI: 10.7752/jpes.2020.s2142.
Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2019). Using Multivariate Statistics (7th edition). U.S.: Pearson Education.
Van Tuyckom, C. (2011). Macro-environmental factors associated with leisure-time physical activity: A cross-national analysis of EU countries. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 39(4), 419–426. DOI: 10.1177/1403494810396553.
Wiese, C. W., Kuykendall, L., & Tay, L. (2017). Get active? A meta-analysis of leisure-time physical activity and subjective well-being. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 13(1), 57–66. DOI: 10.1080/17439760.2017.1374436.
World health organisation (2004). Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health. Geneva: World Health Organization. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9241592222.
World health organisation (2010). Global recommendations on physical activity for health. Geneva: World Health Organization. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241599979.
World health organisation (2016). Physical activity strategy for the WHO European Region 2016-2025. Copenhagen: WHO Regional Office for Europe. Retrieved from https://www.euro.who.int/activity-strategy-2016-2025.pdf.data/assets/pdf_file/0014/311360/Physical
World health organisation (2018). Physical activity factsheets for the 28 European Union member states of the WHO European Region. Copenhagen: WHO Regional Office for Europe. Retrieved from https://www.euro.who.int/file/0005/382334/28fs-physical-activity-euro-rep-eng.pdf.data/assets/pdf_
Zhang, Z., & Chen, W. (2018). A systematic review of the relationship between physical activity and happiness. Journal of Happiness Studies, 20(4), 1305–1322. DOI: 10.1007/s10902-018-9976-0.
