Monitoring of physical activity promotion in children and adolescents in the EU: current status and future perspectives

Abstract

Background Policy action is required to address physical inactivity in boys and girls. This action can be supported by international data collection, comparisons and sharing of good practices. Thus, this study aims to present and discuss the ongoing monitoring of physical activity (PA) indicators in children and adolescents in the 28 EU Member States. Methods Data on PA recommendations, PA prevalence, physical education (PE) and PA promotion programs for children and adolescents were provided by governments in a joint EU/WHO survey on the implementation status of the EU Council Recommendation on Health-Enhancing Physical Activity (HEPA) across Sectors. Results In 23 countries, national recommendations on PA are available. Detailed PA prevalence data among children and adolescents was available in 27 countries, in most cases separately for sex/gender and age groups. The total amount of PE lessons in schools differed greatly between countries and lessons were predominantly mandatory. After-school HEPA promotion programs were mostly implemented in EU Member States (78.6%), followed by active school breaks (57.1%), active travel to school (57.1%) and active breaks during school lessons (53.6%). Conclusions This study summarizes the monitoring of PA indicators among children and adolescents in all EU Member States by providing a comprehensive overview of the status of PA promotion and monitoring across the region. Based on our findings, it could be concluded that the current EU monitoring system on PA promotion should be adapted to provide evidence that can inform future policy development.

Cross-country collaboration for physical activity promotion: experiences from the European Union Physical Activity Focal Points Network

“…20 The survey data have also been used for scientific publications that analysed overall trends in HEPA promotion in the EU across countries and across time, 21 , 22 compared content and development processes of the national PA recommendations, 23 , 24 and described monitoring of PA promotion in children and adolescents. 25 …”

El patio de las escuelas públicas, subvencionadas y privadas como espacio para realizar prácticas corporales: un estudio cuasi etnográfico (The playground of public, subsidized and private schools as a space to carry out bodily practices: a quasi-ethnographic study)

“…De acuerdo con lo señalado, el patio de las escuelas es un espacio que alberga múltiples prácticas dentro de la jornada escolar. En esta línea, la perspectiva de los nuevos materialismos (Lupton, 2020;Smith & Monforte, 2020) permite analizar este lugar como un objeto no humano que interactúa con los humanos que lo habitan y que, en esta interacción, se construyen múltiples realidades. Por ejemplo, desde el estudio de Prato et al (2021), son aspectos importantes la arquitectura con la que son construidos los espacios para el deporte, objetos no humanos, la comida, los aparatos tecnológicos, y la infraestructura que tienen disponible las escuelas o, incluso, el material con el que se practica deporte o los juegos.…”

Prevalence and Correlates of Overweight, Obesity and Physical Activity in Italian Children and Adolescents from Lombardy, Italy

“…Screen time behaviors, such as watching TV, playing videogames or using computers for other purposes, such as social media or surfing the internet, have all contributed to the overall increase in sedentary time. Recent estimates show that less than 20% of European children and adolescents meet the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations on physical activity [ 14 , 15 ]. A WHO report indicated that the prevalence of adolescents (aged 11–15 years) reaching the recommended level of at least 60 min of physical activity per day in Italy (11%) is lower than in several other European countries [ 16 ].…”

“…A WHO report indicated that the prevalence of adolescents (aged 11–15 years) reaching the recommended level of at least 60 min of physical activity per day in Italy (11%) is lower than in several other European countries [ 16 ]. In addition, Italian schools tend to devote less time to physical exercise, compared to those from other European countries [ 15 , 17 ]. This issue is becoming more compelling given the increase in sedentary habits acquired with remote learning during the pandemic [ 18 ].…”