People in Germany typically spend around 10 hours daily in a seated position.
In a startling revelation, a new report by the German Health Insurance (DKV-Report 2025) has highlighted the alarming sedentary habits of the German population. Despite 68% of Germans meeting the recommended physical activity guidelines, the average daily sitting time has surged to over 10 hours.
The report underscores that the minimum recommended hour of exercise per day is often not enough to counteract the harmful effects of prolonged sitting. This is because the average sitting time has increased to 613 minutes a day, with Germans spending 80 minutes commuting, 1.5 hours on a computer or tablet, another 2.5 hours in front of the TV, and 3.5 hours sitting at work, on average.
Professor Ingo Froböse, a prominent health expert, emphasises the need for a societal shift towards more consistent movement throughout the day. He stresses that regular endurance and muscle training are crucial preventive measures for reducing the risk from chronic diseases linked to inactivity.
The survey, conducted across Germany with around 2,800 respondents, reveals that only about a third (30%) of those who sit a lot manage to exercise for an hour or more a day. Consequently, 37% of respondents have an elevated mortality risk due to their combined sitting and physical activity behaviour.
The report, created in collaboration with the German Sports University Cologne and the Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, suggests that an hour of exercise a day is a good guideline to counteract long sitting times. However, it also emphasises the need for a reduction in sedentary time and the inclusion of muscle-strengthening activities, which only 34% of Germans currently meet.
In summary, the recommended hour of exercise per day is helpful but currently insufficient on its own in Germany, given the record-high sitting times. Effective mitigation requires both more daily movement outside formal exercise and muscle-strengthening activity as part of the routine.
- To counterbalance the detrimental effects of extended sitting, Professor Ingo Froböse recommends incorporating daily fitness-and-exercise routines and engaging in health-and-wellness practices such as muscle-strengthening activities.
- As the DKV-Report 2025 indicates, while the average German meets the minimum recommended hour of exercise per day, there is a significant increase in free time spent sitting, leading to a higher mortality risk for many individuals due to sedentary habits and insufficient physical activity.
