Iceland, Norway and the other Nordic countries make the rest of Europe look like a lazy continent.
According to 2014 data from Eurostat, far more people in these countries achieve the minimum recommended physical activity of two and a half hours per week than in the rest of Europe – in fact, in Iceland and across Scandinavia, the figure is more than half.
This stark difference may be due in part to Nordic people’s love of the outdoors; studies have found that exercising outdoors changes how people move, potentially helping them stay active for longer. Another Eurostat survey in 2014 asked exercisers where they typically train. Finns were most likely to say they exercise in parks or outdoors, with more than half of Swedes and Danes also saying they use the outdoors. (The survey excluded Norway and Iceland, which are not part of the European Union.)
Not all Nordic people swim in fjords or go cross-country skiing, but encounters with the natural world are a big part of Nordic culture. The natural world can often be harsh, especially in the cold, dark days of winter. One recent theory is that many people today are critically lacking in that strength, and crave it.
In terms of overall indicators of healthy life expectancy, some Nordic countries are among the best in Europe, but not all of them are at the top. One reason for this may be a historical problem with heavy alcohol consumption. However, data from Finland shows that alcohol consumption is on the decline. Meanwhile, young people in Sweden are increasingly turning away from alcohol and focusing on physical activity.
It’s probably no coincidence that Scandinavian countries, Finland and Iceland, tend to score highly on indicators of happiness and health. Research shows that physical activity makes you feel better, and the Nordic countries may be proving this on a national scale.
