Cycling is the most frequently practiced sport by Poles, followed by running. However, there are clear differences between the generations. Cycling is not in the TOP 5 in every age group and not every group runs equally intensively. Who plays sports and how?
Cyclists have become a permanent element of the Polish landscape. You can get the impression that everyone rides a bike, but it turns out that there is an age group in which the percentage of fans of this discipline is significantly lower than in the others.
These are the youngest people, aged 18-24, who indicate cycling as their discipline only in sixth place. The opposite is true for the 45+ age group in older people, while the highest percentage of cyclists is among people aged 35-44 (54%). Cycling is definitely a favorite sport of people over 35 and 45, and among women who choose a bicycle twice as often as jogging.
Young people most often declared practicing sport in the last three months, while it is in older age groups that sport is practiced with greater regularity. Regardless of the generation, people practicing sports usually do it several times a week.
See the results of the research on the popularity of sports disciplines among Poles conducted by ARC Rynek i Opinia in April 2022.
The youngest generation (18-24 years old)
Running, gym and swimming are the most frequently chosen sports disciplines. Why may it be that they point to the bike less often? They can treat it to a greater extent as a means of movement than a sports discipline, as evidenced by the popularity of city bikes - especially in large cities - among young people.
Generation of 30-year-olds (25-34)
There is no clear leader among the disciplines in this group. Cycling, jogging and gym have basically a comparable percentage of followers.
Generation of 40-year-olds (35-44 years old)
In the case of people approaching 40 or just after it, you can clearly see that cycling is in the first position. Running is also popular, but much less so. The other disciplines are chosen several times less frequentlythan a bicycle.
People 45+ (45-64 years)
Cycling is definitely their element. In the case of this generation, the list includes disciplines that are not included in the previous groups - walking, hiking, Nordic walking. In sports choices, you can clearly see the care for the condition of the joints, because the most frequently chosen disciplines by this group do not burden them.
Sport among Poles - summary
According to our research, the percentage of Poles who practice sports has tripled over the past 10 years. In 2009, only 24% of Poles claimed to play sports, in the latest survey - as much as 74%. During this time, the approach to many disciplines has changed significantly. 10 years ago, Poles most often played football (26%), which would indicate that practicing sports was to a greater extent the domain of men. Currently, basically the same percentage of women and men play sports. The most popular disciplines are cycling (up from 23% to 38%) and running (up from 12% to 30%). It is safe to say that sports are in vogue nowadays. Regardless of age, a large group of people want to be physically active, because they know that it is for the benefit of their well-being - comments Agnieszka Doktorska, researcher at ARC Rynek i Opinia.
The low popularity of cycling among the youngest respondents may indicate that the bicycle is not treated as a discipline but more as a way of getting around. However, it is worth emphasizing that young people often use other equipment to travel - scooters or skateboards, and the bicycle among them is the least handy - e.g. it is difficult to transport in means of transport - adds Agnieszka Doktorska.