Danes are focusing more on strength training, cardio training, pilates, meditation/mindfulness, winter swimming and yoga than traditional sports in order to keep fit, a new study by the University of Southern Denmark has found.
The study, entitled Denmark in Motion, is based on responses from more than 198,000 individuals, including 143,000 adults and 55,000 children.
Health choices
“Health, well-being and flexibility seem to be of greater importance, and this influences adults’ choice of leisure-time exercise,” commented project manager Karsten Elmose-Østerlund.
“The forms of exercise that have gained the most new participants from 2020 to 2025 are strength training and cardio training. This is followed by pilates, meditation and mindfulness, winter swimming, padel, yoga and pool training. Among the traditional sports, only table tennis and golf can keep up – and they can also be practiced quite flexibly. Most others are at the status quo or are lagging behind, e.g. football, gymnastics, swimming and badminton.”
As the study found, in 2025, 45.3% of adults aged 15 and over reported engaging in such activities at least once a week, compared with 39.9% in 2020.
Strength training and cardio training recorded the largest increases, followed by activities such as pilates, yoga, meditation, and winter swimming.
The rise of padel
An interesting takeaway from the study is that padel has seen a notable increase in participation. The proportion of adults playing padel at least once a week rose from 0.3% in 2020 to 2.0% in 2025, equivalent to around 80,000 additional weekly players.
The sport has expanded across age groups and genders and is now the second most widely played racket sport in Denmark after badminton, surpassing tennis.
“In padel you can quickly get started in a fun game, and you can play whenever you want,” Elmose-Østerlund added. “Padel halls have sprung up all over the country, and participation has increased in both commercial centers and associations.”
Overall activity levels remain high across Denmark. Nine out of ten adults reported being physically active in their free time at least once a week, including activities such as walking. The proportion of adults participating in sport or exercise weekly increased from 67.9% in 2020 to 71.2% in 2025.
Self-organised activity remains the most common form, with 72% of adults engaging in exercise independently, although participation in settings such as associations and commercial centres has also increased. Read more here.
