44 per cent of German women did not play competitive sport or spend any time on intensive workouts such as running or cycling, in a given week reveals a new survey.

Although German women are more physically active than their European counterparts, the survey reveals that around 1 in 5 German women did not do enough physical activity, putting themselves at risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), which includes heart disease and stroke. More than 1.75 million women in Germany are just below the threshold for a healthy level of physical activity. They could reduce their risk of CVD if they set themselves the goal of doing just one hour more per week of playing sport or doing everyday physical activities such as gardening or household chores.
The multi-national survey conducted by YouGov in France, Sweden, UK, Denmark and Sweden, and commissioned by the World Heart Federation reveals that in the Germany:
- 44 per cent of Women in Germany did not play competitive sport or do any vigorous physical activity in the week of the survey, compared to 34 per cent in Denmark, 47 per cent in Sweden, 52 per cent of women in France and 54 per cent in the UK
- 19 per cent of women in Germany did not do the recommended amount of physical activity in the week of the survey
- 11 per cent of women admitted to being physically inactive and did not exert themselves at all
The World Heart Federation's "Make a Healthy Heart your Goal" campaign in partnership with UEFA Women's EURO 2013 will be officially launched tomorrow on International Women's Day. The campaign encourages women and girls to set themselves the 'goal' of becoming more physically active, by practising sports such as football and incorporating physical activities into their everyday lives, to reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke.
"Ahead of the UEFA Women's EURO 2013 in July, we are calling on women and girls across Europe to achieve their physical activity 'goal' by playing football. Football is an empowering and unifying experience for women and girls. UEFA believes that every girl should have the opportunity to play football locally regardless of skill or talent and it is our goal to support this aim through our partnership with the World Heart Federation," said Karen Espelund, Member of the UEFA Executive Committee and Chairwoman of the UEFA Women's Football Committee.
Source-Eurekalert