Estimating the Reduction of Socioeconomic Inequalities for a More Physically Active Society: A Cross-Sectional Study of the European Union Country Members.

Background: Socioeconomic inequalities significantly impact the accessibility of resources necessary for physical activity, thereby influencing overall physical activity levels and contributing to broader health disparities. Nevertheless, evidence is lacking on quantifying the increase of people who would be physically active through reducing inequalities by a higher socioeconomic position.

Methods: We conducted secondary data analysis on the 2017 cross-sectional survey of the European Union's population aged ≥18 years (n = 27,538). By estimating socioeconomic status percentages and odds ratios between socioeconomic status (education, occupational social class, and economic issues) and physical activity, we calculated age-standardized Prevented Fraction for Population and the total number of individuals that would meet physical activity guidelines by a higher socioeconomic status (eg, from low to middle or high socioeconomic status), along with scenarios of reduced socioeconomic disparities, controlling for age, gender, place of residence, and marital status.

Results: A higher socioeconomic status could promote physical activity for a total of 93.0 (84.5-101.8) million people through university education, 28.5 million via high-ranked occupations (24.6-32.8), and 137.9 (129.5-146.2) million by less economic issues (compared with primary education, low-manual occupations, and having economic issues most of the time, respectively)-equivalent to 35.46%, 14.49%, and 55.42% of the Prevented Fraction for Population. Reducing socioeconomic inequalities by 50% could raise these estimations to 148.1 million (134.0-162.8) through education, 43.5 million (37.5-50.3) through occupation, and 223.6 million (209.3-237.8) through less economic issues.

Conclusions: Enhancing access to university education, high-ranked occupations, and income impacts physical activity population levels in the European Union.