RTL Today - Comparing the sexes - Part 3: Nutrition, sports, and internet use in Luxembourg

In the third and final part of our series, we take a look at the diet of Luxembourg's men and women, as well as what they get up to in their free time.

All these statistics and more are in Eurostat's 'The life of women and men in Europe' 2022 edition. The interactive guide highlights variations in the lives of men and women across the EU and EFTA countries.

Below, we've picked out key themes relating to Luxembourg, and compared these to the EU averages.

The first article in this series looked at living and ageing. The second part considered learning and earning, while this final part looks at nutrition, sports and hobbies, and internet usage.

How we eat

Here's a puzzle. Luxembourg's residents, especially its women, are particularly healthy. At least when it comes to Body Mass Index (BMI). But their diets are rather unhealthy, if one considers daily consumption of fruit and vegetables.

37.7% of the Grand Duchy's women are classified as overweight, meaning they have a BMI of 25 or over. This compares to an EU average of 44.6%.

As for Luxembourg's men, 56.5% are overweight. This is more than in some countries. In neighbouring France, for instance, 50.5% of men are classified as overweight. But still under the EU average, at 58.4%.

Percentage of adults who are overweight (women are in orange, men in blue):

As for fruit and veg, Luxembourgers have some ground to make up. One third of Luxembourg's men (33.1%) have between 1 and 4 portions of the stuff every day, well below the EU average of over half of men (51.2%).

Luxembourg's women make greener choices, with 43.5% having between 1 and 4 portions of fruit and veg on a daily basis. This is still well below the EU average, though, which stands at 58%.

Drinking and smoking

Just over half of Luxembourg's men (51.3%) and just over a third of its women (37.2%) enjoy at least one alcoholic drink a week.

If this sounds low, it's in fact the opposite! Among all EU countries, only the Netherlands has a higher frequency of weekly alcohol consumption.

Across the EU, 37.4% of men have an alcoholic beverage at least once a week, and 22.2% of men.

Note that the data is not available for Finland, perhaps because they're too busy enjoying a tipple of Salmiakki Koskenkorva?

Percentage of adults who have at least one alcoholic drink a week (women are in orange, men in blue):

As for smoking, well, there's not all that much of it actually. 13.4% of Luxembourg's men smoke on a daily basis, compared to 9.9% of women. Both figures are well below the EU average, at 24.3% and 15.8% respectively.

Europe's top smokers are, for men, Bulgaria (39.2% light up on a daily basis). For women, it's Hungary (22.6%).

Sports and exercise

Luxembourgers are pretty active, perhaps explaining how they manage to stay in good shape despite a diet low in fruit and vegetables.

48.4% of Luxembourg's men spend at least two and a half hours on sports and exercise outside of work per week. That's well above the EU average of 37.3%.

Women are a bit less active, with 41.3% of them spending at least two and a half hours on physical activity. Again, though, this punches well above the EU average of 28.5%.

As for why women are healthier despite working out less, maybe it's due to the better diet (see above)? I can't speak for all men, but the appeal of a kebab does seem to rise considerably after a run.

Or perhaps due to the lower alcohol consumption. Again, beer followed by a kebab is an all-too-appealing proposition.

Percentage of adults spending 2.5 hours or more per week on sports and non-work-related physical activities (women in orange, men in blue):

Internet usage

What do Luxembourg residents get up to on the internet? (PG answers only please!)

Eurostat went to the trouble of asking this question in countries across the EU, surveying women and men between the ages of 16 and 74.

For women in Luxembourg, the top activities (excluding online shopping) were:

1. Sending emails - 83% (EU: 85%)

2. Telephoning or video calling - 72% (EU: 75%)

3. Internet banking - 71% (EU: 64%)

4. Reading the news - 69% (EU: 71%)

5. Participating in social networks - 63% (EU: 66%)

6. Seeking health information - 59% (EU: 68%)

Aside from internet banking, then, women in Luxembourg use the internet slightly less frequently for communication, socialising, health and news than the EU average.

For men in Luxembourg (again excluding online shopping), the top activities were:

1. Sending emails - 86% (EU: 86%)

=2. Reading the news - 73% (EU: 74%)

=2. Internet banking - 73% (EU: 67%)

3. Telephoning or video calling - 69% (EU: 71%)

4. Participating in social networks - 63% (EU: 62%)

5. Seeking health information - 51% (EU: 56%)

Apart from banking online more than the EU average, and seeking health information a little less, the rest of the figures are broadly in line with the bloc as a whole. Compared to Luxembourg's women, though, men online are less social, and spend more time sending emails and reading the news.

Online shopping

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Luxembourg's residents also love to shop online. We kept this separate as Eurostat have a treasure trove of data, but if included in the tables above online shopping would be Luxembourg's second most popular online activity - for both women (Luxembourg: 81%; EU: 74%) and men (Luxembourg: 84%; EU: 75%).

But what are we buying?

Again, there are differences between the sexes. Let's take a look at the top categories. The survey looks at how many women and men ordered categories of items in the three months prior to being asked.

For women, the top categories are:

1. Clothes and shoes - 47% (EU: 49%)

2. Booking accommodation - 26% (EU: 10%)

3. Streaming films and TV - 19% (EU: 18%)

4. Tickets for events - 16% (EU: 6%)

5. Sports goods - 10% (EU: 13%)

6. Electronics or appliances - 9% (EU: 8%)

And for men:

1. Clothes and shoes - 33% (EU: 37%)

2. Streaming films and TV - 28% (EU: 21%)

3. Booking accommodation - 24% (EU: 10%)

4. Electronics or appliances - 20% (EU: 15%)

5. Tickets for events - 16% (EU: 5%)

6. Sports goods - 15% (EU: 17%)

So what does this reveal about Luxembourgers shopping habits?

Fitting with the gender stereotypes, Luxembourg's women are more likely to buy clothes and shoes online than the men. While Luxembourg's men are more likely to purchase gadgets.

What is more striking, though, is how both compare to the EU averages. Luxembourg's residents are much more likely to have booked accommodation or tickets for events. That suggests they're not (only) caught up in material things, but also like to get out and about!

So both Luxembourg men and women drink frequently, smoke infrequently, and aren't too keen on the fruit and veg. But still maintain healthy weight, perhaps due to being pretty active when it comes to sports and exercise.

And while their internet usage is broadly in line with the EU average, the exception is shopping. Yes, Luxembourgers are big spenders, but lots of that money is gone on supporting tourism and culture - both at home and abroad.