Physical activity behaviours in adolescence: current evidence and opportunities for intervention

By E. V. van Sluijs, Ulf Ekelund, I. Crochemore-Silva, R. Guthold, A. Ha, D. Lubans, A. Oyeyemi, Ding Ding, P. Katzmarzyk. The Lancet, 2021

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Young people aged 10-24 years constitute 24% of the world’s population and investing in their health could yield a “triple benefit”: today, into adulthood, and for the next generation. However, in physical activity research this life stage is poorly understood with the evidence dominated by research in younger adolescents (10-14yr), school settings and high-income countries. Globally, 80% of adolescents are insufficiently active, and many engage in ≥2hrs of daily recreational screen time. This paper presents the most up-to-date global evidence on adolescent physical activity and discusses directions for identifying potential solutions to enhance physical activity levels in this population. Adolescent physical inactivity likely contributes to key global health problems, including cardio-metabolic and mental health disorders, but the evidence is methodologically weak. Evidence-based solutions focus on three key components of the adolescent physical activity system: (i) supportive schools, (ii) the social and digital environment, and (iii) multi-utility urban environments. Despite an increasing volume of research focused on adolescents, important knowledge gaps remain and efforts to improve adolescent physical activity surveillance, research, intervention implementation, and policy development are urgently needed.

Subfields: General Health Professions, Physiology, Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/eae799be17b39acd7bca5adb10c9daf6219b0739