Promoting physical activity in the health sector (2018)

The health care setting is crucial for health promotion, including prescribing physical activity in both primary and secondary prevention of noncommunicable diseases. Many health professionals can actively promote physical activity, including medical doctors, nurses, physiotherapists or kinesiologists. The health sector also establishes systems for tracking trends in physical activity, monitoring physical inactivity and sedentary behaviour and assessing the effectiveness of policies and strategies to increase physical activity.

This factsheet presents the results of a collaboration between WHO, the European Commission and European Union Member States. Information was collected by a network of physical activity focal points using a questionnaire with indicators established to monitor implementation of the European Union physical activity guidelines. In addition, success stories or examples of good practices in the promotion of physical activity in the health sector were compiled.