ArticleBMJ open2020
Status and contents of physical activity recommendations in European Union countries: a systematic comparative analysis.
Article in BMJ open, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Clinical practice guidelines for the prevention of childhood obesity: A systematic review of quality and content.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2022Pooled it
- The evidence for the impact of policy on physical activity outcomes within the school setting: A systematic review.Journal of sport and health science · 2021Pooled it
- Peer-Mentor Support for Older, Vulnerable Patients With Ischemic Heart Disease: A Mixed Methods Process-Outcome Evaluation.Journal of advanced nursing · 2025Trial
- How a 10-minute bout requirement for physical activity affects guideline adherence estimates, Germany.Bulletin of the World Health Organization · 2026Article
- Comparative Analysis of Diet Quality, Iron Intake, and Supplementation Among Vegan and Omnivorous Amateur Runners Living in Urban Areas.Food science & nutrition · 2026Article
- The Awareness and Adoption of UK Physical Activity Guidelines by Socio-Demographics: A National Cross-Sectional Survey in Wales.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Associations Between Screen Time, Physical Activity, and Sleep Patterns in Children Aged 3-7 Years-A Multicentric Cohort Study in Urban Environment.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
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- Physical fitness decline and career paths: a longitudinal study of medical undergraduates.BMC medical education · 2024Article
- Telemonitoring of Elderly with Hypertension and Type 2 Diabetes at the Primary Care Level: Protocol for a Multicentric Randomized Controlled Pilot Study.Zdravstveno varstvo · 2022Article
- Cross-country collaboration for physical activity promotion: experiences from the European Union Physical Activity Focal Points Network.European journal of public health · 2022Article
- Walking, running, and recreational sports for knee osteoarthritis: An overview of the evidence.European journal of rheumatology · 2022Article
- Health Enhancing Physical Activity Policies in Poland: Findings from the HEPA PAT Survey.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Physical activity disparities across Europe: clustering European regions by health-related physical activity levels.Health promotion international · 2022Article
- Monitoring of physical activity promotion in children and adolescents in the EU: current status and future perspectives.European journal of public health · 2022Review
- [Policies to promote physical activity in Germany : An analysis based on a policy audit tool from the World Health Organization].Bundesgesundheitsblatt, Gesundheitsforschung, Gesundheitsschutz · 2022Review
- Physical Activity as a Human Right?Health and human rights · 2021Article
- Self-Reported and Device-Measured Physical Activity in Leisure Time and at Work and Associations with Cardiovascular Events-A Prospective Study of the Physical Activity Paradox.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Promoting health-enhancing physical activity in Europe: Surveillance, policy development and implementation 2015-2018.Health policy (Amsterdam, Netherlands) · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesWe analysed the information on current national physical activity recommendations in all EU Member States provided by governments in a joint EU/WHO survey on the implementation status of the EU Council Recommendation on Health-Enhancing Physical Activity across Sectors.
designCross-sectional survey.
participantsThe representatives of the 28 EU Member State governments to the EU Physical Activity Focal Point Network. OUTCOME MEASURES: National recommendations on: (A) minimum frequency, duration, intensity and lengths of bouts of physical activity, (B) preventing inactivity or sedentary behaviour and (C) further recommendations for additional health benefits, obesity prevention and specific types of activity.
resultsAn official document could be located for 23 of the 28 EU Member States, while four are currently developing recommendations. For children and adolescents, most countries follow the 2010 WHO Global Recommendations for Physical Activity, but there are notable differences in the delimitation of age groups. 14 countries also followed WHO in their recommendations for adults, and 11 countries have additional advice on avoiding inactivity and sitting among adults. 18 Member States have recommendations for older adults, 12 of which follow WHO. Thirteen countries also address at least one special population (eg, pregnant women, people with disabilities and people with chronic diseases), but the level of detail varies substantially between countries.
conclusionsThe large majority of EU Member States either has physical activity recommendations in place or is in the process of developing them. There is a general tendency to use the WHO Global Recommendations as a basis, with the greatest variation observable for children and adolescents. Comparing results with a previous round of data collection shows that the number of EU countries with physical activity recommendations is increasing and that both special groups and sedentary behaviour have become more important in recent years.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.