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
Journal
Journal of Physical Activity and Health
ISSN
1543-3080
1543-5474
Date Issued
2023
Author(s)
Andrea Ramírez Varela
Pedro C. Hallal
Juliana Mejía Grueso
Željko Pedišić
Deborah Salvo
Anita Nguyen
Bojana Klepac
Adrian Bauman
Katja Siefken
Erica Hinckson
Adewale L. Oyeyemi
Justin Richards
Elena Daniela Salih Khidir
Shigeru Inoue
Shiho Amagasa
Alejandra Jauregui
Marcelo Cozzensa da Silva
I-Min Lee
Melody Ding
Harold W. Kohl
Ulf Ekelund
Gregory W. Heath
Kenneth E. Powell
Charlie Foster
Aamir Raoof Memon
Abdoulaye Doumbia
Abdul Roof Rather
Abdur Razzaque
Adama Diouf
Adriano Akira Hino
Albertino Damasceno
Alem Deksisa Abebe
Alex Antonio Florindo
Alice Mannocci
Altyn Aringazina
Andrea Backović Juričan
Andrea Poffet
Andrew Decelis
Angela Carlin
Angelica Enescu
Angélica María Ochoa Avilés
Anna Kontsevaya
Annamaria Somhegyi
Anne Vuillemin
Asmaa El Hamdouchi
Asse Amangoua Théodore
Bojan Masanovic
Brigid M. Lynch
Catalina Medina
Cecilia del Campo
Chalchisa Abdeta
Changa Moreways
Chathuranga Ranasinghe
Christina Howitt
Christine Cameron
Danijel Jurakić
Dawn Tladi
Debrework Tesfaye Diro
Deepti Adlakha
Dušan Mitić
Duško Bjelica
Elżbieta Biernat
Enock M. Chisati
Estelle Victoria Lambert
Ester Cerin
Eun-Young Lee
Eva-Maria Riso
Felicia Cañete Villalba
Felix Assah
Franjo Lovrić
Gerardo A. Araya-Vargas
Giuseppe La Torre
Gloria Isabel Niño Cruz
Gul Baltaci
Haleama Al Sabbah
Hanna Nalecz
Hilde Liisa Nashandi
Hyuntae Park
Inés Revuelta-Sánchez
Jackline Jema Nusurupia
Jaroslava Kopcakova
Javier Brazo-Sayavera
Jean-Michel Oppert
Jinlei Nie
John C. Spence
John Stewart Bradley
Jorge Mota
Josef Mitáš
Junshi Chen
Kamilah S Hylton
Karel Fromel
Karen Milton
Katja Borodulin
Keita Amadou Moustapha
Kevin Martinez-Folgar
Lara Nasreddine
Lars Breum Christiansen
Laurent Malisoux
Leapetswe Malete
Lorelie C. Grepo-Jalao
Luciana Zaranza Monteiro
Lyutha K. Al Subhi
Maja Dakskobler
Majed Alnaji
Margarita Claramunt Garro
Maria Hagströmer
Marie H. Murphy
Matthew  Mclaughlin
Mercedes Rivera-Morales
Mickey Scheinowitz
Mimoza Shkodra
Monika Piątkowska
Moushumi Chaudhury
Naif Ziyad Alrashdi
Nanette Mutrie
Niamh Murphy
Norhayati Haji Ahmad
Nour A. Obeidat
Nubia Yaneth Ruiz Gómez
Nucharapon Liangruenrom
Oscar Díaz Arnesto
Oscar Flores-Flores
Oscar Incarbone
Oyun Chimeddamba
Pascal Bovet
Pedro Magalhães
Pekka Jousilahti
Piyawat Katewongsa
Rafael Alexander Leandro Gómez
Rawan Awni Shihab
Reginald Ocansey
Réka Veress
Richard Marine
Rolando Carrizales-Ramos
Saad Younis Saeed
Said El-Ashker
Samuel Green
Sandra Kasoma
Santiago Beretervide
Se-Sergio Baldew
Selby Nichols
Selina Khoo
Seyed Ali Hosseini
Shifalika Goenka
Shima Gholamalishahi
Soewarta Kosen
Sofie Compernolle
Stefan Paul Enescu
Stevo Popovic
Susan Paudel
Susana Andrade
Sylvia Titze
Tamu Davidson
Theogene Dusingizimana
Thomas E. Dorner
Tracy L. Kolbe-Alexander
Tran Thanh Huong
Vanphanom Sychareun
Vera Jarevska-Simovska
Viliami Kulikefu Puloka
Vincent Onywera
Wanda Wendel-Vos
Yannis Dionyssiotis
Michael Pratt
Type
Resource Types::text::journal::journal article
DOI
URL
Abstract
<jats:p><jats:italic><jats:bold>Background</jats:bold>:</jats:italic> 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. <jats:italic><jats:bold>Methods</jats:bold>:</jats:italic> 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. <jats:italic><jats:bold>Results</jats:bold>:</jats:italic> 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. <jats:italic><jats:bold>Conclusion</jats:bold>:</jats:italic> 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.</jats:p>