Background: National and international strategies to increase physical activity emphasize environmental and policy changes that can have widespread and long-lasting impact. Evidence from multiple countries using comparable methods is required to strengthen the evidence base for such initiatives. Because some environment and policy changes could have generalizable effects and others may depend on each country’s context, only international studies using comparable methods can identify the relevant differences.Methods: Currently 12 countries are participating in the International Physical Activity and the Environment Network (IPEN) study. The IPEN Adult study design involves recruiting adult participants from neighborhoods with wide variations in environmental walkability attributes and socioeconomic status (SES).Results: Eleven of twelve countries are providing accelerometer data and 11 are providing GIS data. Current projections indicate that 14,119 participants will provide survey data on built environments and physical activity and 7145 are likely to provide objective data on both the independent and dependent variables. Though studies are highly comparable, some adaptations are required based on the local context.Conclusions: This study was designed to inform evidence-based international and country-specific physical activity policies and interventions to help prevent obesity and other chronic diseases that are high in developed countries and growing rapidly in developing countries.

An optimal level of physical activity (PA) in adolescence influences the level of PA in adulthood. Although PA declines with age have been demonstrated repeatedly, few studies have been carried out on secular trends. The present study assessed levels, types and secular trends of PA and sedentary behaviour of a sample of adolescents in the Czech Republic.

Background: Due to the increasing occurrence of obesity and low physical activity (PA) reported in school children there is a need to investigate PA patterns of preschool children. Our aim was to identify the PA of preschool children in comparison to the PA of teenagers and young adults. Methods: PA of 104 Czech preschool children (aged 5–7 years), 1174 teenagers (aged 12–17 years) and 787 young adults (aged 18–24years) was determined using Caltrac accelerometery. PA was evaluated on the basis of activity energy expenditure (AEE – kcal kg⁻¹ day⁻¹). Subjects were monitored over 7 days to include a weekend. Results: The AEE in preschool children was significantly higher in comparison to all age groups of teenagers and young adults during both weekdays and at the weekend (P < 0.0001). On weekdays during leisure time, preschoolers were considerably more physically active than all categories of teenagers and young adults (P < 0.001). Preschoolers show similarities in PA level between weekdays and weekends, unlike the older age groups. Conclusion: It seems to appear that organized daily PA (2 × 20 min of exercising on carpet, 50–70 min of walking outdoors) in preschool children along with enough space for spontaneous PA establishes prerequisites for their further healthy development.

Health-enhancing physical activities (PA) performed outdoors could markedly contribute to the adoption of a healthy lifestyle in adolescence. The differences between PA preferences and actual opportunities for these PA are an issue that has received frequent attention. To date, the extent to which these differences are reflected in adolescents meeting PA recommendations and their well-being has not been explored. In total, 10,086 respondents took part in an on-line research project regarding PA preferences. Of them, 2446 also completed the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (Long Form) and the World Health Organization (WHO) W-5 questionnaire to assess well-being. Finally, 1278 of these respondents were involved in objective PA monitoring using pedometers. The study aimed to explore the prevalence and trends regarding outdoor PA. Moreover, we assessed whether the agreement between preferred PA and PA actually undertaken was associated with higher odds for meeting PA recommendations and achieving a higher level of well-being. Of a selection of outdoor activities, Czech and Polish boys preferred cycling, swimming, and downhill skiing, while girls preferred swimming activities, skating, and cycling. The agreement between preferred and PA actually undertaken was associated with higher odds for meeting the weekly PA recommendations and higher levels of well-being both in boys and girls. Evaluation of outdoor PA preferences and taking these preferred activities into account when forming conditions for them was important in the efficient promotion of the physical and mental health of adolescents.

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.

The decline of physical activity (PA) in adults as well as children and youth is a worldwide phenomenon. The aim of this study is to analyse the amount of PA in Czech university students' daily lives. The research on university students was conducted as part of nationwide research on PA in the adult population of the Czech Republic. A total of 906 students at eight selected universities were asked to participate in this study. The response rate was 79.5%. We analysed data from 641 university students: 318 male [mean age 21.63±1.73; mean Body Mass Index (BMI) 23.50±1.91] and 323 female (mean age 21.08±1.53; mean BMI 21.23±2.20). The students wore Yamax SW-701 pedometers continuously for seven days. With respect to BMI, the recommendation of 10,000 steps per day on an average day was met by 76% of men and 68% of women of normal weight, 67% of male students who were overweight or obese and 85% of female students who were overweight or obese. Of all monitored days, in both females and males, the number of steps taken on Sunday was significantly lower (p<0.0001) in comparison to other days of a week. No significant differences were found in the number of steps taken among students of normal weight, students who were overweight and students who were obese on any of the monitored days. The majority of Czech male university students are of normal weight. Only 9% of students meet the criterion of 10,000 steps every day. Approximately two-thirds of students meet the 10,000 steps daily criterion on four or more days per week. The lowest number of steps is taken on Sundays; this finding supports the need for intervention programmes to enhance PA on weekends.