Physical activity: introduction and policy context
In 2019, updated UK-wide physical activity guidelines were published by the four Chief Medical Officers of the UK home countries. The guidelines differ for different age groups, with the full guidelines available in the UK Chief Medical Officers’ Physical Activity Guidelines.
Health benefits
Regular physical activity of at least moderate intensity provides general health benefits across a range of diseases and across all ages. In particular, there is strong evidence that the greatest health benefits happen when the least active people become moderately active (UK Chief Medical Officers’ Physical Activity Guidelines, p. 13-14).
A 2023 Public Health Scotland report ‘Estimating the burden of disease attributable to physical inactivity in Scotland’ reviewed evidence on the relationship between physical inactivity and health outcomes. They found ‘convincing or probable’ evidence for a causal relationship between physical activity the following health outcomes:
- Reduced risk of all-cause mortality.
- Reduced risk of cardiovascular conditions, including heart disease and stroke.
- Reduced incidence of type 2 diabetes and hypertension.
- Reduced risk of several cancers, including colon, breast and liver cancer.
The report also found evidence of a correlation between high (versus low) physical activity and the following health outcomes:
- Reduced risk of dementia, improved cognitive function, improved quality of life, improved sleep and reduction in anxiety and depression.
- Reduced risk of excessive weight gain and increased likelihood of weight loss, when sufficient levels of physical activity is obtained, or when combined with moderate dietary restriction.
- Reduced incidence of falls and fall-related injuries.
- Improved physical function in older adults.
Health risks of inactivity and sedentary behaviour
The Public Health Scotland report focused on ischaemic heart disease and found that 4,523 ischaemic heart disease disability-adjusted life years (the loss of the equivalent of one year of full health) are attributed to low activity in Scotland each year. Ninety-one percent of these are due to years of life lost, reflecting the high case of fatality of ischaemic heart disease.
Inactive and sedentary behaviours involve sitting, lying or reclining during waking hours, undertaking little movement and/or using little energy above what is used at rest (UK Chief Medical Officers’ Physical Activity Guidelines, p. 47). Evidence suggests that prolonged sedentary behaviour may increase the risk of some health outcomes, independently of physical activity levels (UK Chief Medical Officers’ Physical Activity Guidelines, p. 24, 33, 41).
Policy context
The Scottish Government’s Active Scotland Outcomes Framework sets out the Government’s ambitions for sport and physical activity. The Framework is supported by Scotland's Physical Activity Delivery Plan, A More Active Scotland, launched in July 2018. A new National Delivery Plan for Physical Activity and Outcomes Framework is due to be published in 2024.
Other national strategies and plans include Let's get Scotland walking, the Cycling Framework for Active Travel, Sport Scotland's Sport for Life and Transport Scotland’s Active Travel Framework. Since walking is the most popular form of physical activity undertaken (Scottish Household Survey, Physical Activity and Sport), the Scottish Government are focussing on promoting walking, including through the charity Paths for All.
One of Scotland’s six Public Health Priorities is: 'A Scotland where we eat well, have a healthy weight and are physically active'.
Public Health Scotland have produced, ‘A Systems-based Approach to Physical Activity: A Framework for Action at a National and Local Level’, which translates the World Health Organisation’s Global Action Plan for Physical Activity and the International Society for Physical Activity and Public Health’s Eight Investments that Work for Physical Activity into a Scottish context.
Links to other policy documents of relevance to physical activity in Scotland are available from the Physical Activity Policy section on the Public Health Scotland website.
