Physical activity - Objective Domain 9

Physical activity and inactivity have many effects on people’s health and on public health in general. Physical activity is defined as all kinds of movement that provides increased energy consumption. Health-promoting physical activity improves health without causing injury.

Physical activity is a protective factor for the prevention and treatment of diseases such as cardiovascular disease, obesity, type-2 diabetes, diseases affecting motor organs, mental illness and cancer. Maintained physical activity throughout life helps people to be able to live an independent life up to an advanced age.

Physical activity and public health policy

Physical activity has grown into a major public health issue at the municipal, regional and national levels. The issue has gone from being a matter for the individual to becoming an important issue in society.

Public health policy, with its cross-sectional approach, constitutes a constructive platform for continued development and change work that promotes physical activity. The broad approach, in which many authorities and players contribute to creating better societal conditions for increased physical activity as well as the development of indicators, is seen as an important element in public health efforts. The significance of physical activity as a public health matter is also growing in the EU and WHO.

The target of the collective efforts in this area is for society to be shaped so that it provides the conditions for increased physical activity for the entire population. This shall primarily be accomplished through efforts that stimulate:

• greater physical activity in pre-school and school, and in association with work
• greater physical activity during leisure time
• the elderly, those experiencing long-term illness and the disabled being offered opportunities of exercise or training on their own terms.