Are Poles the „fittest“ Europeans?

[u/scurrilous_diatribe]

Currently Poland for the weekend, and It seems like the average pole is either „military buff fit“, or „cyclist endurance fit“. I mean even the dudes with the plumber-bodies despite having a beer-belly, have arms that could lift trucks. That type of „farmer-strength“ build

If Europe ever was to do a similar version of that Netflix show in South Korea „physical: 100“, it should definitely take place here.

[u/skyduster88]

The EU actually collects data about this.

Here's the share of persons aged 15 and over performing non-work-related physical activities at least once a week, by type of activity, in 2019.

https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=File:Share_of_persons_aged_15_and_over_performing_non-work-related_physical_activities_at_least_once_a_week,_by_type_of_activity,_2019_(%25).png.png)

Do keep in mind that there may also be generational differences, and that the relatively low numbers for Poland may mask generational differences (maybe younger adults keep fit, but older adults don't), and maybe also regional and rural-urban divides.

Another possibility is that the relatively few Poles who do keep fit, tend to be more intense. For example, the US has a higher obesity rate than any county in Europe, however in the US, building muscle / lifting / bodybuilding is much more popular than in Europe. A French friend of mine made a similar observation about the US, and said he thinks it's because "people came to America to build a new country". No, it's just culture and what's culturally more popular.

[u/orthoxerox → u/skyduster88]

Looks like the Nordics+Germany are the biggest gymbros. Weird than only 60% of the Dutch reported cycling for more than 10 minutes.