Why a Day for Physical Activity? 

Physical activity is part of human routine living for centuries. However, the 2012 Lancet Physical Activity Series showed that physical inactivity was responsible for 5+ million deaths per year globally. This massive burden of disease attributable to physical inactivity is due to (a) the high prevalence of inactivity observed among both adults (~30%) and adolescents (~80%) worldwide; and (b) the increased risk of many diseases in inactive individuals as compared to their active peers. Despite significant progress in physical activity surveillance, research, and policy worldwide, physical activity levels are not increasing which suggests that “more of the same is not enough”.  This is why we need to remind health professionals, policymakers and society in general about the importance of physical activity to health, hence the need for an annual World Physical Activity Day. 

What’s the Story? 

Physical activity is defined as any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that results in energy expenditure. Governments are responsible for making it easy for individuals to choose physical activity as part of routine living. Access to pleasant, safe, healthy, equitable and purposeful physical activity must be a societal priority. The International Society for Physical Activity and Health (ISPAH) supports the World Day for Physical Activity 2025 as part of its global efforts to promote physical activity and health, and more specifically, through the Eight Investments That Work for Physical Activity – actionable strategies to promote healthier communities through embedding physical activity in national and sub-national policies. 

What’s the Solution? 

It is time to move from a “sick individuals” to a “healthy populations” approach. For decades, the promotion of physical activity has been focused on those who are inactive. It is time to focus on the entire population and aim to move the entire physical activity distribution towards more activity. A robust body of evidence suggests that some physical activity, even if below the recommended 150 minutes per week, brings substantial health benefits to individuals and to communities. 

To achieve such a goal, however, it is mandatory to consider the context in which people live. A substantial amount of physical activity, particularly in low- and middle-income countries and among low-income families in high-income countries, is more a necessity than a choice. In such cases, in addition to promoting physical activity, it is imperative to promote health, equity and justice. It is also essential to work outside of the heath sector; to increase physical activity also requires work with sport, urban environments, education and planning sectors.  

For decades now, the field has focused on total physical activity, which combines the activities taking place at work, at school, at home, during leisure-time and as means of transportation. It is time to study each of these domains separately, as activities taking place in each of them vary considerably in terms of necessity vs. choice.  

Key messages 

• Physical inactivity causes as many deaths as smoking per year globally. 
• Physical activity levels are not increasing worldwide.  
• It is time to change the focus of physical activity promotion: instead of targeting inactive individuals, it is time to target the entire population to move more.  
• It is imperative to consider the context in which physical activity takes place and whether it is practiced as a necessity or as a choice. 

Authors 

Pedro C Hallal & Adrian Bauman – ISPAH Fellows