Eight Investments That Work for Physical Activity

Abstract

Background: The International Society for Physical Activity and Health (ISPAH) is a leading global organization working to advance research, policy, and practice to promote physical activity. Given the expanding evidence base on interventions to promote physical activity, it was timely to review and update a major ISPAH advocacy document—Investments that Work for Physical Activity (2011). Methods: Eight investment areas were agreed upon through consensus. Literature reviews were conducted to identify key evidence relevant to policymakers in each sector or setting. Results: The 8 investment areas were as follows: whole-of-school programs; active transport; active urban design; health care; public education; sport and recreation; workplaces; and community-wide programs. Evidence suggests that the largest population health benefit will be achieved by combining these investments and implementing a systems-based approach. Conclusions: Establishing consensus on ‘what works’ to change physical activity behavior is a cornerstone of successful advocacy, as is having appropriate resources to communicate key messages to a wide range of stakeholders. ISPAH has created a range of resources related to the new investments described in this paper. These resources are available in the ‘advocacy toolkit’ on the ISPAH website (www.ispah.org/resources).

Population level physical activity before and during the first national COVID-19 lockdown: A nationally representative repeat cross-sectional study of 5 years of Active Lives data in England

“…Overall, the varied impacts by demographic group may support the notion that certain groups of people respond differently to intervention for different physical activity behaviours. This suggests that a broad range of physical activity support and promotion approaches are needed at a population level, 31 , 32 as opposed to a one-size-fits-all approach. This may apply both to maintaining and increasing population levels of activity, as well as limiting their decline in periods of crisis.…”

Creating a social movement to engage communities in physical activity: A mixed methods study of motivations to engagement

“…A sequential mixed methods design was used, whereby quantitative analyses were used to develop a greater understanding of qualitative data obtained through an open question [ 29 ]. To elaborate, when registering to take part in the game, players were asked to complete a self-report questionnaire which included a range of demographic questions (i.e., age, gender, ethnicity and disability), a validated physical activity questionnaire [ 30 ] and an open question “What motivated you to take part in Beat the Street?”. During the registration process, participants provided written informed consent.…”

A Quasi-Experimental Study of the Effects of an Outdoor Learning Program on Physical Activity Patterns of Children with a Migrant Background: the PASE Study

“…Diverse interventions to address the problem of PA deficiency among youth have been proposed (Bull et al, 2010, Hills et al, 2015, Milton et al, 2021. Here, we review three key intervention targets: a) increasing PA among youth with a migrant background; b) using school as a privileged target for intervention; and c) increasing time spent outdoors.…”