5.1. Leisure-time physical activity and the background variables at ages 14 and 31

At age 14, males participated in sports more frequently and were more often members of a sports club than females (Table 3). There was no essential gender difference in the grade in school sports, but males had a lower average grade for all school subjects (Table 3). At 14 years, the most common sports were cross-country skiing, running, ice hockey, skating, soccer and swimming (Fig. 5 and Article I: Table 1). At 14 years, 30% reported participation in one, 34% in two, and 21% in three or more types of sports.

At age 31, it was slightly more common for males than females to be physically inactive (30% vs. 24%) (Table 3). Most of the subjects had children by that age, and 16% of the females were on maternity or childcare leave. The females had a higher level of education than the males. The majority of the subjects were employed, while 12% of the males and 5% of the females were working as entrepreneurs, about 13% were unemployed and 4% were full-time students. About 58% lived in an urban area and 25% in a rural one (Table 3). At 31 years, walking, cycling and outdoor activities were the most commonly reported types of physical activity (Fig. 6 and Article I: Table 2).