Spain is one of the European countries in which the economic recession of 2008 has had the strongest impact. The economic recession implied an exponential increase in unemployment, a real estate crisis, a decrease in Gross Domestic Product and a budget deficit for regional governments. The deleterious effects of the economic recession on population health have previously been documented

Background Living standards determine population’s physical activity (PA); however, more women are systemically insufficiently active, suggesting social gender inequality factors. Thus, we assessed the association between gender inequality, PA differences between genders, and total PA. Methods We used three independent cross-sectional databases at country-level: PA prevalence (i.e., Active Lifestyle) from the World Health Organization with 1.9 million individuals from 168 countries; daily steps (smartphone registers) of 693 806 people from 46 countries and sport participation in the 2016 Summer Olympics with 11 191 athletes. Gender Inequality Index was used to evaluate aspects surrounding gender equality controlling for overall economic and health status. Results Higher gender inequality was associated with gender differences in PA (Active Lifestyle, 0.402, P < 0.001; Steps, 0.542, P < 0.001; Olympic participation, 0.346, P = 0.001). Likewise, lower gender inequality was associated with increased women activity (Active Lifestyle, −0.838, P < 0.001; Steps, −0.81, P < 0.001; Olympic participation, −0.577, P < 0.001), and men activity (Active Lifestyle, −0.453, P < 0.001; Steps, −0.461, P = 0.002). Conclusions Lower women PA levels could be influenced by gender inequality. Public health policies aimed to improve women living conditions which may promote their participation in PA and sport.

Objectives To analyse relationships of social stratification on physical activity (PA) prevalence and barriers in the European population. Methods Data were retrieved from Eurobarometer 88.4, a cross-sectional survey conducted in 2017 with 28,031 over 15-year-old inhabitants of the European Union. PA prevalence was calculated along with the probability to be physically inactive by social stratification. Logistic regressions were run in the inactive population to show the social class effect on each barrier adjusted by sociodemographic factors employing a propensity score matched method. Results Low social class presented higher inactivity prevalence (43.11%), whilst the high social class reported the lowest prevalence (23.30%). Also, the low (OR 0.52; 95% CI 0.47-0.58) and middle (OR 0.71; 95% CI 0.64-0.79) social classes were less likely to be active compared to high social class. In the inactive population, the low social class had mostly higher odds to report each barrier. Conclusions Social class is a relevant factor for low PA, with more barriers in the lower social classes. Public health institutions should implement strategies on more influential PA barriers and disadvantaged social groups.

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