[Does leisure time cause illness? Leisure time behavior and its sequelae]

Most people in West Germany (and elsewhere) equate leisure time with joy of living, relaxation and with "having fun", and dismiss any idea of disease or accident almost like heresy. Such lines of thought are far removed from reality. In fact, every third inhabitant of West Germany needs medical care at least once in five years because of health damage during his or her holidays or during leisure-time or sports activities, or health injury sustained while travelling or staying in foreign countries. Travellers' diseases are among the most frequent leisure-time ailments. The "dream of a holiday" becomes a nightmare for every 20th traveller: more than a million West Germans (6% of the vacationists) fell ill during their holidays in 1988. Leisure-time sports activities are yet another cause of disease and accidents: amateur sports activities have been increasing by leaps and bounds because people have more leisure time to spend and yet feel cramped up in their offices and working places with lack of movement while growing more "health conscious"--as a result, accident hazards have also increased among non-members of sports clubs trying to be zealous sportsmen and sportswomen. In addition to occupational medicine specialists we will also need in future physicians for treating and preventing diseases associated with leisure time.