Aim: We investigated the fitness of German executives and especially how often and in which sports they are actively engaged and if they differ from the general population with regard to their physical activity. Subject and Methods: In 2003, 404 executives were examined (366 men and 38 women). All examinees underwent a voluntary one-day health check-up in Karlsruhe (PREVENT health checkup at the IAS Foundation). We evaluated the sporting activities in an extensive questionnaire, assessed important anthropometric data and measured physical fitness in a maximum cycle ergometer exercise test. Results: A statistical analysis was carried out for the male executives only, because the number of female executives was too low. 279 (76 %) of the 366 male executives regularly engaged in sporting activities: 87 (24 %) less than 2 h/week, 125 (34 %) 2—4 hours/week and 67 (18 %) more than 4 h/week. The sporting activities most frequently performed were jogging and cycling, followed by playing tennis and golf. An increase in sporting activities was correlated with a significant improvement in cardiorespiratory fitness. Approximately half of the executives reached a physical performance of at least 10 MET. The examinees with a preference for endurance sports (joggers, cyclists) performed best. Also a better fitness correlated with a lower body mass index and a lower body fat percentage. Conclusions: We conclude that German executives on average engage in sporting activities more often and longer than the general population, and therefore have better physical fitness. The percentage of executives not active at all (24 %) was lower in this study than in our previous study from 2000. However, 48 % of the executives actively engage in sports for less than 2 h/week, which is considered the least desirable level of activity for health benefits.
