Physical activity

1. Key messages

2. Physical activity among adults

In Belgium, more men than women met the recommendations on physical activity during leisure and transport activities

In Belgium in 2018, 30% of the population aged 18 years and over did at least 150 minutes of at least moderate-intensity physical activity per week during leisure time or during transport. More men (36%) than women (25%) met the recommendations. The prevalence was the highest in the youngest age group (47%) and the lowest in the highest age group (12%).

More people in Flanders met the physical activity recommendations during leisure and transport activities

More people were meeting the physical activity recommendations in Flanders (43% in men and 34% in women) than in Brussels (29% and 18%, respectively) and Wallonia (27% and 15%, respectively).

People with tertiary education are more likely to meet the recommendations 

After age standardization, people with tertiary education were more likely to meet the recommendations (38%) than people with an upper secondary education (26%), a lower secondary education (22%), and primary education (12%).

3. Physical activity among adolescents

In 2022, more boys than girls performed at least 60 minutes a day of physical activity

In Belgium in 2022, more boys than girls aged 11 to 18 performed at least 60 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity per day. Adolescents aged 11 to 12 were more likely to meet this threshold compared to older age groups, except for boys in the Flemish Community, where no differences were observed between age groups.

In 2022, a greater proportion of adolescents performed at least 60 minutes a day of physical activity in the Flemish Community

More adolescents in the Flemish Community (26% of boys and 14% of girls) perform at least 60 minutes moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity per day compared to the French Community (19% of boys and 10% of girls).

In 2022, the proportion of adolescents meeting the 60-minute daily physical activity threshold increased in the Flemish Community

Between 2014 and 2022, the proportion of adolescents performing at least 60 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity per day increased in the Flemish Community, whereas it decreased in the French Community.

In the Flemish Community in 2022, adolescents from high-affluence families were more likely to meet the 60-minute daily physical activity threshold

According to the HBSC International report, adolescents aged 11, 13, and 15 years from high-affluence families in the Flemish Community were more likely to spend at least 60 minutes a day on physical activity. The prevalence was 1.6 times higher for boys and 1.9 times higher for girls compared to those from the low-affluence families. In the French Community, no significant difference was observed.

In 2022, the prevalence of adolescents from the Flemish Community compared favourably to the EU-14 average regarding the 60-minute daily physical activity threshold

In 2022, 28% of 15-year-old boys in the Flemish Community met the physical activity threshold, compared to the EU-14 average of 19%. In the French Community, only 15% of boys met this recommendation, which is lower than the EU-14 average. For girls, the prevalence in the Flemish Community was 14%, exceeding the EU-14 average of 9.1%, while the French Community reported a similar rate to the EU-14 average, at 8.0%.

4. Screen-related sedentary behavior among adolescents

In 2022, nearly all adolescents reported more than two hours of screen time on weekdays

In 2022, there was no difference in daily screen-related sedentary behavior between boys and girls, except among 11-12-year-olds, where boys were more likely to exhibit sedentary behaviour than girls. In both communities and for both sexes, adolescents aged 11–12 were lesser to spend more than two hours per day in front of a screen compared to older adolescents.

In the French Community, internet use was the most prevalent screen-related activity, with 52% of boys and 61% of girls spending more than two hours on this activity on weekdays. In the Flemish Community, playing video games was the most common screen-related activity, with 34% of boys and 23% of girls spending more than two hours on this activity on weekdays.

In 2022, boys from the French Community spent more than 2 hours per day on screen-related sedentary activities than those from the Flemish Community

On weekdays, 94% of boys in the French Community exceeded two hours of screen time, compared to 91% in the Flemish Community. Among girls, the prevalence was similar in both communities, with 92% in the French Community and 91% in the Flemish Community.

Screen-related sedentary behaviour has increased over time

Between 2014 and 2022, the proportion of adolescents who engage in screen-related sedentary behavior for more than 2 hours daily on weekdays increased for both sexes and in both communities. In 2022, the prevalence was 1.1 to 1.2 times higher than in 2014.

5. Read more

View the metadata for this indicator

HISIA: Interactive Analysis of the Belgian Health Interview Survey

Health-Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey - French Community

Health-Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey - Flemish Community

Background

Lack of physical activity is one of the leading risk factors for both morbidity and mortality for a series of chronic conditions, including cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and diabetes. Moreover, regular physical activity, when reaching a sufficient threshold, provides significant health benefits. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that adults aged 18-64 perform at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week [1].

There is currently no consensus on how to estimate physical activity levels based on self-reported surveys: the use of different instruments and cut-off points for classifying the levels of activity make international comparisons difficult. From 2001 to 2013, the Belgian Health Interview Survey (HIS) measured physical activity using he short version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Since 2018, the EHIS-PAQ questionnaire is used as recommended by the European Health Interview Survey (EHIS), improving international comparability but limiting trend analysis over time [2].

In this report, we evaluate physical activity among adults based on the proportion of adults meeting the WHO recommendation of at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity physical activity, based on the self-reported data from the Belgian Health Interview Survey (HIS) [2].

Physical activity among adolescents is evaluated using the proportion of adolescents aged 11-18 who meet the 2010 WHO recommendation of at least 60 minutes per day of moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity, based on self-reported data from the Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey [3-4]. In 2020, WHO updated its recommendations to include frequency: in addition to daily duration, adolescents should engage in vigorous-intensity activity and muscle- and bone- strengthening activities at least three days a week [6]. However, the current HBSC questions do not allow for evaluation of these updated 2020 recommendations.

The sedentary behaviour of adolescents during weekdays is evaluated through self-reported screen time during leisure time, based on Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey [3-4].

The HBSC survey collects data through questionnaires completed by students, drawn from a sample of schools that were randomly selected from the full-time education schools. The surveys provide information among adolescents aged 11 to 18 years. The data used for the French Community covers students from Wallonia and the Brussels-Capital Region, while the Flemish Community only includes schools from Flanders and not those from the Brussels-Capital Region [3-4]. For international level and socio-economic disparities, data are used from the most recent international reports published by the World Health Organization [5]. The indicators were assessed among adolescents aged 11, 13 and 15 years.

Definitions

Age-adjusted proportion

Since lifestyle factors are strongly influenced by age, comparisons among regions and educational levels need to be standardized by age to have a similar age structure. 

EHIS-PAQ questionnaire - adults 

The EHIS-PAQ is a domain-specific physical activity questionnaire compounded of eight questions. It takes into account physical activity related to work, during transport (i.e. going from and to places), and during leisure time. The EHIS-PAQ was tested in different regions and cultural settings in Europe. It allows estimating the health-enhancing physical activity recommendation defined by the WHO.

Performing at least 150 minutes of at least moderate intensity physical activity throughout the week during leisure time or during transport - adults

To calculate this indicator in the HIS, three questions were asked to the participants to assess the time they spend bicycling to get to and from places and the time they spend on sport leisure activities.

Performing at least 60 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity per day - adolescents

In the HBSC survey, adolescents are asked how many days in the past week they were physically active for at least 60 minutes per day.

Screen-related sedentary behaviour - adolescents

In the HBSC survey, three questions were asked to the adolescents to assess the time they spend watching TV, gaming, using a computer and using social media during leisure time on weekdays. Exceeding two hours per day is considered screen-related sedentary behaviour.

Family affluence - adolescents

The HBSC survey uses the Family Affluence Scale (FAS), to estimate adolescents’s socio-economic status based on household material assets. The FAS includes six items covering family vehicle ownership, the number of bedrooms and bathrooms in the home, holidaying abroad, and family computer and dishwasher ownership. Family affluence indicates the prevalence (or average score) of indicators among adolescents from the wealthiest 20% of households in both communities, compared to the least affluent 20% of households [5].

EU-14 - adolescents

The EU-14 corresponds to all countries that belonged to the European Union between 1995 and 2022: Austria, Belgium, Denmark (without Greenland), Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden. We compare the Belgian health status to that of the EU-14 rather than the one of the EU-27 because this historical construction has more socio-economic similarity than EU27. From 2020 onwards, we compare data between 14 countries, excluding the United Kingdom, which is no longer part of the European Union.

References

1. World Health Organization, 2010. Global recommendations on physical activity for health. Genève. https://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/global-PA-recs-2010.pdf
2. Health Interview Survey, Sciensano, 2001-2018. https://www.sciensano.be/en/projects/health-interview-survey
3. Service for Health Information, Promotion, and Education, Université libre de Bruxelles. 2022. Health behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey in the French community, funded by the Office for Birth and Childhood (ONE), the Walloon Region (AVIQ) and the Brussels Region (Cocof). http://sipes.ulb.ac.be/
4. Health Promotion Research Group of Ghent University (UGent). 2022. The Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study in the Flemish Community, under the coordination of the Regional Office of the World Health Organization (WHO) for Europe, the HBSC study funded by the Flanders Agency for Care and Health.  http://www.jongeren-en-gezondheid.ugent.be/
5. World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe. 2022. Spotlight on adolescent health and well-being. Findings from the 2021/2022 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey in Europe and Canada. International report. https://hbsc.org/publications/reports/a-focus-on-adolescent-physical-activity-eating-behaviours-weight-status-and-body-image-in-europe-central-asia-and-canada/
6. World Health Organization. WHO guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour. 2020 https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240015128

Please cite this page as: Sciensano. Determinants of Health: Physical activity, Health Status Report, 21 October 2025, Brussels, Belgium, https://www.healthybelgium.be/en/health-status/determinants-of-health/physical-activity