APPROACHES TO PROMOTING MORE WIDESPREAD PARTICIPATION IN PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

Abstract

Exercise is associated with a reduced risk of coronary heart disease, has beneficial effects on cardiovascular risk factors, and has other health benefits. No more than 10 per cent to 20 per cent of adults in Australia and other developed countries participate in regular vigorous physical activity, while over 65 per cent of Australian adults are almost totally sedentary. Survey data from the U.S.A. suggest that levels of participation in jogging and walking have increased in the past 10 years but that the proportion of people who take no deliberate exercise has also increased. Large‐scale community interventions to promote exercising have not been subject to rigorous evaluation and it is difficult to reach any firm conclusions about the effects of exercise promotion. However, it is possible to identify some of the factors which may influence exercise participation, and there is information from trials of large‐scale, multifactorial interventions to reduce cardiovascular risk which provides some helpful guidelines about how it may be useful to proceed. Approaches to increasing levels of exercise participation should emphasise community‐based efforts which provide appropriate settings and social support for exercising, making exercise a more appealing and accessible option for large numbers of people; the use of mass media for community education about exercising should be co‐ordinated carefully with specific community activities. Personalized fitness instruction, groups and classes should place more emphasis on exercise as a pattern of behaviour to be integrated into a person's way of life and maintained over time; and there is the potential for more widespread and systematic use of self‐instructional exercise materials to assist people who wish to exercise independently. Because there exist only limited local research findings and work in other countries does not yet provide conclusive information, research and development priorities for these areas are suggested. 1988 Public Health Association of Australia