India captain Virat Kohli and sportswear brand Puma, commissioned a pan-India study with market research agency Kantar IMRB to understand the current state of physical activity and sports adoption in the country. The study also assessed the barriers to playing sport regularly. Additionally, it highlights that the biggest motivation for adopting play is the sheer joy it brings and how it can effortlessly be included in everyday life.
The findings revealed that 1/3rd of the total population surveyed had not done any physical activity even once in the last one year. “Physical activity here included any activity at home, outdoors, gyms or fitness centres such as Running, walking, zumba, yoga, swimming etc. as well as sports such as cricket, football, badminton, tennis, table tennis, basketball, volleyball, Hockey, Squash and local games such as Kabaddi, Kho-Kho etc,” the study revealed.
It also found out that 57 per cent of the respondents have not played any sport for the last one year, within the age bracket of 22 and 40. “3/4th of this group last played a sport only in school or college, while 70 per cent of the respondents between 18-21 years had played a sport at least once in the last one year, this figure dropped drastically as individuals progressed in their occupations, and reduced to just 26 per cent in the age bracket of 36-40 years,” the report stated.
Gurgaon, Raipur and Patna rated low on this index with only 18 per cent, 15 per cent and 12 per cent of the respondents from these cities playing at least once in the last 1 month.
“It is shocking to see that one-third of the country has not done any kind of physical activity in the last one year. When you are physically fit, you are more energized to take on challenges. I have experienced this personally, and therefore strongly believe in leading an active lifestyle,” Kohli said.
“Technology and social media is gaining preference over health and fitness in our lives. This needs to change. Sports can be seamlessly integrated into our daily life – one can do it anywhere and at any time. Hence, I urge everyone to come out and play. Its fun, relieves stress and helps us stay fit.”
Abhishek Ganguly, Managing Director, PUMA India said: “The study brings out alarming facts about India’s adoption of physical activity. It is essential to take corrective steps to address this situation. Playing sports is a simple yet effective solution that can be implemented into everyday life.”
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