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Leisure Time Physical Activity and Sedentariness

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Encyclopedia of Public Health

Definition

Leisure time physical activity refers to all of the behavior connected with physical activity that people engage in in their freely disposable time. Hence, there is a distinction between it and physical activity which is engaged in as part of gainful employment or in the context of daily life. In particular, however, the boundaries between leisure time activities and everyday activities are blurred because of their situational and subjective nature. As specific forms of leisure-time behavior which consciously aim at improving physical fitness, sport and exercise constitute the core area of leisure time physical activity.

Describing the same problem from the opposite perspective, sedentariness is a concept or term which refers to a physically inactive lifestyle. It is embedded in social and mental behavioral patterns and caused by current developments in the work and leisure sector of our societies (Brettschneider and Naul 2004).

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References

  1. Brettschneider WD, Naul R (2004) Study on young people's lifestyles and sedentariness and the role of sport in the context of education and as a means of restoring the balance. Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/sport/documents/lotpaderborn.pdf

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  4. European Commission (2004b) How Europeans spend their time. Everyday life of women and men, data 1998–2002. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg

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© 2008 Springer-Verlag

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Steinbach, D., Graf, C. (2008). Leisure Time Physical Activity and Sedentariness . In: Kirch, W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Public Health. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-5614-7_1968

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-5614-7_1968

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

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