Physical activity - the past, present and potential future: a state-of-the-art review

Abstract

This is a state-of-the-art review of historical developments, current approaches and recommended future directions in physical activity (PA) research, practice and policy. Since the early epidemiological studies in the 1950s, PA research has developed from within a biomedical paradigm. There is now a strong evidence base linking PA with positive health outcomes. PA is currently understood as a multi-sector issue, requiring a multi-sector solution (e.g. transport, urban design, sport), resulting in multiple individual and societal benefits (e.g. addresses multiple Sustainable Development Goals), however, there is a disconnect between interventions, policy and practice. This may be due to limited cross-sector collaboration between, and within, the public and private sectors. Furthermore, the mix of policy instruments employed by governments to implement PA policy to date has been dominated by soft (e.g. communication) rather than hard options (e.g. fiscal). To progress in PA promotion, we need to move beyond health outcome and intervention evidence generation (e.g. focus on testing efficacy in highly controlled settings), to more complex, real world, politically informed, multi-sector, scale-up and policies, while concurrently collecting data to evaluate such efforts (e.g. natural experiments and evaluations of the policy process). PA programs may benefit from greater incorporation of public policy considerations, so that proposed interventions and policies are designed with potential political constraints in mind. We conclude by providing a call to action to advance the understanding of the role of politics in PA, in order to develop politically informed action on PA.