Physical Activity Participation in Rural Areas: A Case Study

Celia Marcen, Eduardo Piedrafita, Rubén Oliván and Irela Arbones
Additional contact information
Celia Marcen: Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad San Jorge, Campus Universitario de Villanueva de Gállego, Villanueva de Gállego, 50830 Zaragoza, Spain
Eduardo Piedrafita: Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad San Jorge, Campus Universitario de Villanueva de Gállego, Villanueva de Gállego, 50830 Zaragoza, Spain
Rubén Oliván: Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad San Jorge, Campus Universitario de Villanueva de Gállego, Villanueva de Gállego, 50830 Zaragoza, Spain
Irela Arbones: National Institute of Physical Education of Catalonia (INEFC), University of Lleida, 25192 Lleida, Spain

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 3, 1-21

Abstract: Sport participation and physical activity promotion have been intensively studied, especially regarding large cities. However, in many cases, rural municipalities have comparatively reduced services, including health care, due to the low profitability that these have for companies and entities. In this sense, the purpose of this article was to describe a case study of the promotion of physical activity in rural areas based on the results of a European project. Carried out in a rural municipality of around 8500 inhabitants with a population density of less than 25 inhabitants/km 2 , the project’s purpose was the promotion of autonomous physical activity among its inhabitants. For this, a diagnostic analysis of the sports areas of the environment and a survey of physical activity habits among the population were carried out. A series of routes were designed, marked, and signposted, and canopies with explanatory posters about the possibilities of healthy physical activity and recommendations were added. Free-use facilities were installed, and opening events were carried out in such a way as to stimulate sports practice among the population. This article presents the results obtained from the analysis, as well as the possibilities of replication in other municipalities with similar needs.

Keywords: environment; outdoor sports; healthy lifestyles; semi-rural; informal sport (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/3/1161/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/3/1161/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:3:p:1161-:d:729721

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().