Participation in Competitive Sport and Sport Leisure Among Working Inhabitants of Warsaw Based on Selected Groups

Introduction. The aim of this work was to explore sports activities among various socio-professional groups based on the example of the inhabitants of Warsaw. Material and methods. The sample comprised of 6547 inhabitants of Warsaw - representatives of 16 professional groups. The study was conducted with the use of an especially designed questionnaire, featuring two sections - the first one devoted to organised sport, and the second and on the participation in sport leisure (regular, periodical, sporadic) within the previous year. In keeping with the European definition, sport is understood as both competitive sport, and regular sport leisure or recreation. The survey was carried out by trained interviewers exclusively in March and November 2006-2008. Results. Participation in sport activities among Poles increased not only compared to other European countries, but also to previous Polish studies, as it pertained to 43% of Warsaw inhabitants. The proportion of Warsaw residents involved in organised sport amounted to 6%, and those involved in regular recreation to 41%. Pupils and students are the most active both in sport and in leisure. Nearly 19% of pupils and nearly 8% of students are involved in organised sport activities, while for sport leisure this proportion amounts to 55% and 50% respectively. In the case of both competitive sport activities and leisure the number of men exceeds the number of women involved in them. Conclusions. Sport activities that Poles involve in are still not close to the recommended WHO and ATMS norms.