these findings indicate that participation in a weekly group exercise programme with ancillary home exercises can improve balance and reduce the rate of falling in at-risk community dwelling older people.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends the development of comparable national physical activity surveillance systems to assess trends within and amongst countries as the Global Strategy for Diet and Physical Activity is implemented. To date, the lack of wellstandardised measurement instruments has impeded such efforts, but new methodologies are being developed for this purpose. This paper describes the usefulness of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) in population samples. The Special Eurobarometer Wave 58.2 2002 covered physical activity and provided a good vehicle for assessment of health-enhancing physical activity (HEPA) in the European Union. Data from around 1,000 individuals in each of the 15 member states were collected after careful translation of the questionnaire. IPAQ scoring protocol version 2 was used for definition of activity categories. Data on the prevalence of sufficient total activity, sedentariness, frequent walking and sitting, in total and by gender across European Union (EU) countries showed consistent patterns. The prevalence of sufficient physical activity for health across the member countries was 29%. It ranged from 44% in the Netherlands to 23% in Sweden. The prevalence of sedentariness across countries was in general the mirror image. Regular walking was most prevalent in Spain. Gender was related to physical activity in that men were 1.6 times more likely than women to be sufficiently active, less likely to be sedentary and slightly more likely to sit for at least 6 hours daily. The findings suggest that two thirds of the adult populations of the European countries are insufficiently active for optimal health benefits. As the IPAQ measurement provides information about the patterns of total physical activity and inactivity, the findings indicate possibilities for targeted health promotion efforts.

The WHO Health Promotion Glossary was written to facilitate understanding, communication and cooperation among those engaged in health promotion at the local, regional, national and global levels. Two editions of the Glossary have been released, the first in 1986 and the second in 1998, and continued revision of the document is necessary to promote consensus regarding meanings and to take account of developments in thinking and practice. In this update 10 new terms that are to be included in the Glossary are presented. Criteria for the inclusion of terms in the Glossary are that they differentiate health promotion from other health concepts, or have a specific application or meaning when used in relation to health promotion. The terms defined here are: burden of disease; capacity building; evidence-based health promotion; global health; health impact assessment; needs assessment; self-efficacy; social marketing; sustainable health promotion strategies, and; wellness. WHO will continue to periodically update the Health Promotion Glossary to ensure its relevance to the international health promotion community.

Objective: To evaluate the reliability and validity of a brief physical activity assessment tool suitable for doctors to use to identify inactive patients in the primary care setting. Methods: Volunteer family doctors (n = 8) screened consenting patients (n = 75) for physical activity participation using a brief physical activity assessment tool. Inter-rater reliability was assessed within one week (n = 71). Validity was assessed against an objective physical activity monitor (computer science and applications accelerometer; n = 42). Results: The brief physical activity assessment tool produced repeatable estimates of ''sufficient total physical activity'', correctly classifying over 76% of cases (k 0.53, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.33 to 0.72). The validity coefficient was reasonable (k 0.40, 95% CI 0.12 to 0.69), with good percentage agreement (71%). Conclusions: The brief physical activity assessment tool is a reliable instrument, with validity similar to that of more detailed self report measures of physical activity. It is a tool that can be used efficiently in routine primary healthcare services to identify insufficiently active patients who may need physical activity advice. P hysical activity is now recognised as an important health enhancing behaviour.1 Primary care doctors have been identified by the community as the preferred source of information about physical activity.2 Efficacy studies have repeatedly shown that brief advice from a doctor can result in positive, albeit short term, changes in behaviour.3 However, a weakness found in many of the studies reviewed was that interventions were not tested in routine care and in many cases relied on the assistance of third parties (research assistants, receptionists) to identify insufficiently active patients for the doctor to counsel. These methods may be necessary in intervention trials, but for physical activity counselling to be widely adopted in routine practice, family doctors need to be able to measure and monitor their patients' physical activity levels.In a recent Australian study, 4 it was difficult for the doctors to have sufficient time to assess their patients' physical activity using a standard physical activity questionnaire. Family doctors are time pressured, thus a brief tool that is reliable and valid is required. The tool also needs to specifically identify whether patients are meeting physical activity guidelines, 1 which recommend that adults should accumulate at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity most (preferably all) days of the week, or, for added fitness related benefits, 20 minutes of vigorous intensity physical activity on at least three occasions a week is recommended.Prochaska et al 5 developed and evaluated a physical activity assessment tool suitable for use with adolescents in primary care. However, given there are specific physical activity guidelines for adolescents, this tool is not suitable for adults. The aim of this study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of a brief physical activit...

Background: A primary aim of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort study is to examine the association between total physical activity levels (comprising occupational, household and recreational activity) and the incidence of cancer. We examined the validity and long-term repeatability of total physical activity measurements estimated from the past-year recall EPIC questionnaire, using accelerometers as an objective reference measure.

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The prevalence of sufficient physical activity was found to be low and strongly related to social support and self-efficacy. This is an important group to whom diabetes prevention strategies can be targeted.

Objective: To describe the pattern and prevalence of food and drink