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Physical activity and sport

Physical activity has positive health effects. People of all ages who are physically active on a regular basis can increase their general well-being and physical, mental and social health, as well as strengthen the cardiovascular system and the development of the musculoskeletal system. In addition, regular physical activity can prevent obesity, back pain, cardiovascular disease or cancer. In contrast to the health benefits of physical activity, are long periods of sedentary behaviour associated with negative impacts on health.

Our everyday life requires less and less physical activity. Many adults, and increasingly many children, do not reach the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations for physical activity (see Figures 1 and 2). In the German Physical Activity Report Card, children and adolescents in Germany, for example, only achieve a school grade of 4 in the category "physical activity". During the COVID-19 pandemic, achieving the recommended minimum physical activity time has become an even greater challenge for many. Due to the importance of physical activity for prevention and health promotion, the promotion of physical activity has a high public health relevance. The national recommendations for physical activity and physical activity promotion contain concrete recommendations for action for different target groups as well as information for physical activity promotion measures that can be applied at different levels (population, community, policy, environment). For the promotion of physical activity among children during the pandemic, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Health, coordinated the development of three information sheets for the living environments of day-care centres, schools and sport clubs in a participatory process.

Percentage of children and adolescents who are physically active for at least 60 minutes a day.Figure 1: Percentage of children and adolescents who are physically active for at least 60 minutes a day. Source: ©Robert Koch-Institut 2021, Study KiGGS Wave 2, Survey 2014–2017; published in Finger JD, Varnaccia G, Borrmann A, Lange C, Mensink GBM (2018) Physical activity among children and adolescents in Germany. Results of the cross-sectional KiGGS Wave 2 study and trends. Journal of Health Monitoring 15;3(1):23-30. doi: 10.17886/RKI-GBE-2018-023.2

Percentage of men and women who achieve the WHO-recommended endurance activity level of at least 150 minutes per week.Figure 2: Percentage of men and women who achieve the WHO-recommended endurance activity level of at least 150 minutes per week. Source: ©Robert Koch-Institut 2021, Study GEDA 2019/2020-EHIS, Survey 2019-2020; published in Richter A, Schienkiewitz A, Starker A, Krug S, Domanska O et al. (2021). Health-promoting behaviour among adults in Germany - Results from GEDA 2019/2020-EHIS. J Health Monit. 2021 Sep 15;6(3):26-44. doi: 10.25646/8553.

Activities at the RKI

The RKI regularly collects population-wide data on the physical activity behaviour of children, adolescents and adults as part of its health monitoring system. One aim of our work is to report at regular intervals how physically active the population living in Germany is, in which areas of life physical activity takes place (e.g. work, leisure time, to cover distances), which groups have an increased risk of an inactive lifestyle and to what extent people are sedentary in everyday life. We refer to the guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO) on physical activity and sedentary behaviour and develop corresponding survey instruments. As the survey instruments are being developed in German, we refer to the further information also available here in German. In addition, we analyse temporal trends in physical activity as well as associations with non-communicable diseases, other health behaviours and individual, interpersonal and environmental determinants. The intersection of "environment and health" also includes possible changes in physical activity behaviour - for example, to protect the climate (e.g. replacing car journeys with cycling).

Research projects and cooperations

Currently, the area of physical activity/sport is the subject of the following studies:

In GEDA, the health and health behaviour of adults is being investigated. In the area of physical activity/sport, we observe the physical activity and inactivity in the population in all areas of life, as well as the influence of the pandemic on these behaviours.

The dissemination and use of digital devices to measure physical activity, fitness and health is also an important topic for us, which we are addressing at various levels as part of the further development of the RKI health monitoring.

In KIDA, the health and health behaviour of children and adolescents aged 3 to 17 years is being studied in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the area of physical activity/sport, we observe the overall physical activity level as well as the use of voluntary sport offers in different settings. We are particularly interested in the impact of the pandemic on the physical activity behaviour of children and adolescents.

With a study on the promotion of physical activity in day-care centres, schools and sports clubs - considering the pandemic conditions (BeweKi), the RKI investigates the implementation of physical activity promotion for children and adolescents in the day-care centre, school and sports club environments at the setting level.

Other important public health topics at the RKI are "One Health" and "Environment and Health". This includes our research on climate-relevant health behaviour such as active travel. In the PhD project HeraCliP (Health Behaviour and Climate Protection), we are investigating how many people are aware of the connection between their own travel and dietary behaviour and climate change, what their attitudes are and what motives (could) drive them to actively travel distances and reduce meat consumption.

Furthermore, we are in close exchange with the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG), the Federal Centre for Health Education (BZgA) and other scientific institutions. In cooperation with other research institutions, the second German Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth 2022 has been published.