It was in 2003 that the EU Commission Directorate General for Education and Culture
commissioned a Study on young people's lifestyles and sedentariness and the role of sport in
the context of education and as a means of restoring the balance. The purpose of this study was
to compile an intercultural comparative analysis of adolescents' lifestyles within the EU. This
analysis was based on international and national studies from the areas of epidemiology
cardiology paediatrics physiology nutrition psychology sociology and sport sciences
dealing with physical activity fitness and motor abilities.
