Background: Several reviews have examined the health benefits of participation in specific sports, such as baseball, cricket, cross-country skiing, cycling, downhill skiing, football, golf, judo, rugby, running and swimming. However, new primary studies on the topic have recently been published, and the respective meta-analytic evidence needs to be updated. Objectives: To systematically review, summarise and appraise evidence on physical health benefits of participation in different recreational sports. Methods: Searches for journal articles were conducted in PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, SpoLit, SPORTDiscus, Sports Medicine & Education Index and Web of Science. We included longitudinal and intervention studies investigating physical health outcomes associated with participation in a given sport among generally healthy adults without disability. Results: A total of 136 papers from 76 studies conducted among 2.6 million participants were included in the review. Our meta-analyses of available evidence found that: (1) cycling reduces the risk of coronary heart disease by 16% (pooled hazard ratio [HR] = 0.84; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.80, 0.89), all-cause mortality by 21% (HR = 0.79; 95% CI: 0.73, 0.84), cancer mortality by 10% (HR = 0.90; 95% CI: 0.85, 0.96) and cardiovascular mortality by 20% (HR = 0.80; 95% CI: 0.74, 0.86); (2) football has favourable effects on body composition, blood lipids, fasting blood glucose, blood pressure, cardiovascular function at rest, cardiorespiratory fitness and bone strength (p < 0.050); (3) handball has favourable effects on body composition and cardiorespiratory fitness (p < 0.050); (4) running reduces the risk of all-cause mortality by 23% (HR = 0.77; 95% CI: 0.70, 0.85), cancer mortality by 20% (HR = 0.80; 95% CI: 0.72, 0.89) and cardiovascular mortality by 27% (HR = 0.73; 95% CI: 0.57, 0.94) and improves body composition, cardiovascular function at rest and cardiorespiratory fitness (p < 0.010); and (5) swimming reduces the risk of all-cause mortality by 24% (HR = 0.76; 95% CI: 0.63, 0.92) and improves body composition and blood lipids (p < 0.010). Conclusions: A range of physical health benefits are associated with participation in recreational cycling, football, handball, running and swimming. More studies are needed to enable meta-analyses of health benefits of participation in other sports. PROSPERO registration number CRD42021234839.

To determine the physical activity level of the Croatian population in different domains of everyday life. A random stratified sample of 1032 Croatians aged 15 years and older was interviewed using the official Croatian long version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Total physical activity and physical activity in each of the 4 life domains--work, transport, domestic and garden, and leisure-time--were estimated. Physical activity was expressed as metabolic equivalent-hours per week (MET-hour/week). Median total physical activity for the whole sample was 58.2 MET-hour/week. Median physical activity in MET-hour/week was 30.4 for work, 5.0 for transportation, 13.1 for domestic and garden, and 6.0 for leisure-time domain. The lowest physical activity was found in the 15-24 age group (42.7 MET-hour/week) and the highest in the 55-64 age group (72.0 MET-hour/week). Multiple regression analysis showed a significant relationship of socio-demographic and health-related characteristics (size of settlements, household income, educational level, age, body mass index, self-rated physical health, and self-rated mental health) with physical activity in all domains (P < 0.001). Studies on physical activity in transition countries should include the domains of work and domestic and garden, since if only leisure-time domain is examined, the total physical activity level could be underestimated. As the lowest physical activity was reported by adolescents and young adults, strategies for increasing physical activity in this age group should be developed.

Background: Physical activity (PA) surveillance, policy, and research efforts need to be periodically appraised to gain insight into national and global capacities for PA promotion. The aim of this paper was to assess the status and trends in PA surveillance, policy, and research in 164 countries. Methods: We used data from the Global Observatory for Physical Activity (GoPA!) 2015 and 2020 surveys. Comprehensive searches were performed for each country to determine the level of development of their PA surveillance, policy, and research, and the findings were verified by the GoPA! Country Contacts. Trends were analyzed based on the data available for both survey years. Results: The global 5-year progress in all 3 indicators was modest, with most countries either improving or staying at the same level. PA surveillance, policy, and research improved or remained at a high level in 48.1%, 40.6%, and 42.1% of the countries, respectively. PA surveillance, policy, and research scores decreased or remained at a low level in 8.3%, 15.8%, and 28.6% of the countries, respectively. The highest capacity for PA promotion was found in Europe, the lowest in Africa and low- and lower-middle-income countries. Although a large percentage of the world’s population benefit from at least some PA policy, surveillance, and research efforts in their countries, 49.6 million people are without PA surveillance, 629.4 million people are without PA policy, and 108.7 million live in countries without any PA research output. A total of 6.3 billion people or 88.2% of the world’s population live in countries where PA promotion capacity should be significantly improved. Conclusion: Despite PA is essential for health, there are large inequalities between countries and world regions in their capacity to promote PA. Coordinated efforts are needed to reduce the inequalities and improve the global capacity for PA promotion.

Information on the relationship between domain‐specific physical activity (PA) and health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) in the general population and specific groups is still scarce. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between PA in work, transport, domestic and leisure‐time domains and HRQoL among university students. PA and HRQoL were assessed in a random stratified sample of 1750 university students using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire – long form and 12‐item Short Form Health Survey, respectively. The Spearman's rank correlations, adjusted for age, community size, personal monthly budget, body mass index, smoking habits and alcohol intake ranged from −0.11 to 0.18 in female students and −0.29 to 0.19 in male students. Leisure‐time, domestic, transport‐related PA and total PA were positively related to HRQoL. Inverse correlations with HRQoL were only found for work‐related PA in male students. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that only leisure‐time PA was related to the Physical Summary Component score (β = 0.08 for females and β = 0.10 for males, P < 0.05). Domain‐specific PA levels were not significantly related to the Mental Component Summary score. To get a more comprehensive insight in the relationship between PA and HRQoL, future studies should not only analyse total PA levels but also domain‐specific PA levels. The evidence on the positive relationship of leisure‐time, transport and domestic PA with HRQoL can potentially be used to support evidence‐based promotion of PA in a university setting, and as a hypothesis for future longitudinal studies on such potential causal relationships.

The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of back pain and neck pain and their relationship with the quality of life in the Croatian general population. This was a cross-sectional study using home-based face-to-face interviews of 1030 participants (51.6% females) 15 years or older. Back and neck pain frequencies were assessed using single items and quality of life using the Short Form Survey and Satisfaction with Life Scale. Analysis of covariance was conducted, where back pain or neck pain frequency was used as the categorical predictor; physical component summary or mental component summary, as the dependent variable; and age, body mass index, and physical activity level, as covariates. The prevalence of back pain was 66.3% (95% confidence interval [CI], 62.3%-70.3%) and 62.9% (95% CI, 58.7%-67.2%) in females and males, respectively. The prevalence of neck pain was 58.0% (95% CI, 53.8%-62.2%) for females and 53.6 (95% CI, 49.2%-58.0%) for males. Differences between men and women were not significant (P>.05). Adjusted mean values for physical component summary and mental component summary were substantially lower in participants who reported back or neck pain often/almost always compared with those without pain. Differences ranged from 8.11 to 11.86 points (95% CI, 5.54-13.99) and from 9.61 to 10.99 points (95% CI, 7.35-13.45) in females and males, respectively. The findings of this study showed that back and neck pain are highly prevalent and negatively related to quality of life in the Croatian general population. These data might raise the awareness of local government health authorities and lead to improvements in health care service for people with back and neck pain.