Status and Trends of Physical Activity Surveillance, Policy, and Research in 164 Countries: Findings From the Global Observatory for Physical Activity—GoPA! 2015 and 2020 Surveys

Background: Physical activity (PA) surveillance, policy, and research efforts need to be periodically appraised to gain insight into national and global capacities for PA promotion. The aim of this paper was to assess the status and trends in PA surveillance, policy, and research in 164 countries. Methods: We used data from the Global Observatory for Physical Activity (GoPA!) 2015 and 2020 surveys. Comprehensive searches were performed for each country to determine the level of development of their PA surveillance, policy, and research, and the findings were verified by the GoPA! Country Contacts. Trends were analyzed based on the data available for both survey years. Results: The global 5-year progress in all 3 indicators was modest, with most countries either improving or staying at the same level. PA surveillance, policy, and research improved or remained at a high level in 48.1%, 40.6%, and 42.1% of the countries, respectively. PA surveillance, policy, and research scores decreased or remained at a low level in 8.3%, 15.8%, and 28.6% of the countries, respectively. The highest capacity for PA promotion was found in Europe, the lowest in Africa and low- and lower-middle-income countries. Although a large percentage of the world’s population benefit from at least some PA policy, surveillance, and research efforts in their countries, 49.6 million people are without PA surveillance, 629.4 million people are without PA policy, and 108.7 million live in countries without any PA research output. A total of 6.3 billion people or 88.2% of the world’s population live in countries where PA promotion capacity should be significantly improved. Conclusion: Despite PA is essential for health, there are large inequalities between countries and world regions in their capacity to promote PA. Coordinated efforts are needed to reduce the inequalities and improve the global capacity for PA promotion

The trend and structure of adolescents’ weekly step count in the context of the Polish school environment

Introduction and objective. Weekly physical activity (PA) in adolescents is significantly correlated with the educational programme and school environment, where the basis of healthy work habits and a healthy lifestyle is laid. The aim of the study was to identify the differences in the trend and the structure of the weekly step count in adolescent boys and girls in the context of the Polish school environment. Materials and method. A total of 930 boys and 1,354 girls aged 15–19 years from 64 secondary schools in the Katowice region participated. The research was conducted between 2011–2018. For the objective monitoring of weekly PA, Yamax Digiwalker SW-700 pedometers were used. Results. Between 2011–2014 and 2015–2018, no significant differences were observed in step counts on an average week day, school day, or weekend day. This means that the level of PA, expressed as daily step count, did not decrease between the two 4-year periods. On average, boys performed 10,799 steps/day, while girls performed 10,130 steps/day. The recommendation of 11,000 steps/day was achieved by 42.2% of boys and 35.3% of girls. A significant decrease by 8.6 percentage points in the achievement of 11,000 steps/day between the two 4-year periods was observed only in boys. Conclusions. It is positive that in the 8-year monitoring of PA, there was no significant decrease in the average steps/day for Polish boys and girls. However, most boys and girls did not meet the 11,000 steps/day recommendation. Both boys and girls were most physically active on Friday and least physically active on Sunday

Kierunek kształcenia jako czynnik warunkujący aktywność fizyczną, wskaźnik BMI i samoocenę sprawności fizycznej studentów z państw wyszehradzkich

Background. The objective of the research was to present the diverse nature of physical activity, BMI indicator and indicator of self-assessment of physical activity of students from the Visegrad group countries depending on their fields of study. Material and methods. 2237 students from humanistic, medical and technical faculties were tested. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was used for the analysis in its extended version. BMI indicator and indicator of self-assessment of physical activity were also characterized. Results. More than half of the students were characterized by a high level of physical activity. In most cases, they possessed the correct value of body mass index (BMI) and the average self-esteem of physical fitness. Conclusions. The field of study does not differentiate significantly the level of body mass index (BMI), which in most tested cases achieved the correct value. The statistical analysis did not reveal any significant statistically relation between fields of study and self-assessment of physical fitness.Wprowadzenie. Celem badań było ukazanie zróżnicowania aktywności fizycznej, wskaźnika BMI i samooceny sprawności fizycznej studentów z państw wyszehradzkich w zależności od kierunków kształcenia. Materiał i metody. Badaniom poddano 2237 osób studiujących kierunki humanistyczne, medyczne i techniczne. Do oceny aktywności fizycznej wykorzystano Międzynarodowy Kwestionariusz Aktywności Fizycznej (IPAQ) w wersji długiej, charakterystyce poddano również wskaźnik masy ciała BMI i samoocenę sprawności fizycznej. Wyniki. Ponad połowa studentów charakteryzowała się wysokim poziomem aktywności fizycznej. W większości badani dysponowali prawidłową wartością wskaźnika masy ciała (BMI) i średnią samooceną sprawności fizycznej. Wnioski. Kierunek studiów nie różnicuje istotnie statystycznie poziomu wskaźnika masy ciała (BMI), który w większości przypadków u badanych przyjął wartość prawidłową. Analiza statystyczna nie wykazała również istotnego statystycznie związku kierunku kształcenia z samooceną sprawności fizycznej

Differences in physical activity and nutritionand silhouette-related behaviours in male and female students in selected European countries

As indicated by the WHO, lifestyle plays a unique role in human health, which in turn is determined to a great extent by physical activity and nutrition. It must be borne in mind that physical activity should be systematic and regulated by an age-appropriate exercise intensity. All this indicates that learning about students’ lifestyle, with a particular focus on physical activity is vital as it these young people who aspire to the role of the future elites. Objective. The aim of the study is to evaluate the level of physical activity, nutrition- and silhouette-related behaviours of male and female students to assess the relationships between these variables in students from the Visegrad Group countries. Materials and method. The study was conducted in 2015 and involved 2,497 students attending three undergraduate levels aged – x – 21,76, (SD-1,80) – 1,211 males (48.5%) and 1,286 females (51.5%). The IPAQ long-form and a questionnaire by the Polish Chief Sanitary Inspector were used. Results. Physical activity was significantly higher in male than female students. An important relationship was observed among the larger number of consumed meals, level of physical activity, and silhouette-related behaviours in male students, which was not the case with females. However, there was an important correlation between physical activity in males and females who exercised to increase or decrease body weight (musculature), and took medications to increase body weight (musculature). Conclusion. Both males and females showed pro-health attitudes related to the level of physical activity and nutrition- and silhouette-related behaviours

Advancing science and policy through a coordinated international study of physical activity and built environments: IPEN methods

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