Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 2023, 20, 112-128
https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2022-0464
© 2023 Human Kinetics, Inc.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Status and Trends of Physical Activity Surveillance, Policy, and
Research in 164 Countries: Findings From the Global Observatory
for Physical Activity—GoPA! 2015 and 2020 Surveys
Andrea Ramírez Varela, Pedro C. Hallal, Juliana Mejía Grueso, Željko Pedišić, Deborah Salvo, Anita
Nguyen, Bojana Klepac, Adrian Bauman, Katja Siefken, Erica Hinckson, Adewale L. Oyeyemi, Justin
Richards, Elena Daniela Salih Khidir, Shigeru Inoue, Shiho Amagasa, Alejandra Jauregui, Marcelo
Cozzensa da Silva, I-Min Lee, Melody Ding, Harold W. Kohl III, Ulf Ekelund, Gregory W. Heath, Kenneth
E. Powell, Charlie Foster, Aamir Raoof Memon, Abdoulaye Doumbia, Abdul Roof Rather, Abdur
Razzaque, Adama Diouf, Adriano Akira Hino, Albertino Damasceno, Alem Deksisa Abebe, Alex
Antonio Florindo, Alice Mannocci, Altyn Aringazina, Andrea Backović Juričan, Andrea Poffet, Andrew
Decelis, Angela Carlin, Angelica Enescu, Angélica María Ochoa Avilés, Anna Kontsevaya, Annamaria
Somhegyi, Anne Vuillemin, Asmaa El Hamdouchi, Asse Amangoua Théodore, Bojan Masanovic,
Brigid M. Lynch, Catalina Medina, Cecilia del Campo, Chalchisa Abdeta, Changa Moreways,
Chathuranga Ranasinghe, Christina Howitt, Christine Cameron, Danijel Jurakić, David MartinezGomez, Dawn Tladi, Debrework Tesfaye Diro, Deepti Adlakha, Dušan Mitić, Duško Bjelica, Elżbieta
Biernat, Enock M. Chisati, Estelle Victoria Lambert, Ester Cerin, Eun-Young Lee, Eva-Maria Riso,
Felicia Cañete Villalba, Felix Assah, Franjo Lovrić, Gerardo A. Araya-Vargas, Giuseppe La Torre,
Gloria Isabel Niño Cruz, Gul Baltaci, Haleama Al Sabbah, Hanna Nalecz, Hilde Liisa Nashandi, Hyuntae
Park, Inés Revuelta-Sánchez, Jackline Jema Nusurupia, Jaime Leppe Zamora, Jaroslava Kopcakova,
Javier Brazo-Sayavera, Jean-Michel Oppert, Jinlei Nie, John C. Spence, John Stewart Bradley, Jorge
Mota, Josef Mitáš, Junshi Chen, Kamilah S Hylton, Karel Fromel, Karen Milton, Katja Borodulin, Keita
Amadou Moustapha, Kevin Martinez-Folgar, Lara Nasreddine, Lars Breum Christiansen, Laurent
Malisoux, Leapetswe Malete, Lorelie C. Grepo-Jalao, Luciana Zaranza Monteiro, Lyutha K. Al Subhi,
Maja Dakskobler, Majed Alnaji, Margarita Claramunt Garro, Maria Hagströmer, Marie H. Murphy,
Matthew Mclaughlin, Mercedes Rivera-Morales, Mickey Scheinowitz, Mimoza Shkodra, Monika
Piatkowska,
˛
Moushumi Chaudhury, Naif Ziyad Alrashdi, Nanette Mutrie, Niamh Murphy, Norhayati Haji
Ahmad, Nour A. Obeidat, Nubia Yaneth Ruiz Gómez, Nucharapon Liangruenrom, Oscar Díaz Arnesto,
Oscar Flores-Flores, Oscar Incarbone, Oyun Chimeddamba, Pascal Bovet, Pedro Magalhães, Pekka
Jousilahti, Piyawat Katewongsa, Rafael Alexander Leandro Gómez, Rawan Awni Shihab, Reginald
Ocansey, Réka Veress, Richard Marine, Rolando Carrizales-Ramos, Saad Younis Saeed, Said ElAshker, Samuel Green, Sandra Kasoma, Santiago Beretervide, Se-Sergio Baldew, Selby Nichols,
Selina Khoo, Seyed Ali Hosseini, Shifalika Goenka, Shima Gholamalishahi, Soewarta Kosen, Sofie
Compernolle, Stefan Paul Enescu, Stevo Popovic, Susan Paudel, Susana Andrade, Sylvia Titze, Tamu
Davidson, Theogene Dusingizimana, Thomas E. Dorner, Tracy L. Kolbe-Alexander, Tran Thanh
Huong, Vanphanom Sychareun, Vera Jarevska-Simovska, Viliami Kulikefu Puloka, Vincent Onywera,
Wanda Wendel-Vos, Yannis Dionyssiotis, and Michael Pratt
Background: Physical activity (PA) surveillance, policy, and research efforts need to be periodically appraised to gain insight into
national and global capacities for PA promotion. The aim of this paper was to assess the status and trends in PA surveillance, policy,
and research in 164 countries. Methods: We used data from the Global Observatory for Physical Activity (GoPA!) 2015 and 2020
surveys. Comprehensive searches were performed for each country to determine the level of development of their PA surveillance,
policy, and research, and the findings were verified by the GoPA! Country Contacts. Trends were analyzed based on the data
available for both survey years. Results: The global 5-year progress in all 3 indicators was modest, with most countries either
improving or staying at the same level. PA surveillance, policy, and research improved or remained at a high level in 48.1%, 40.6%,
Ramírez Varela (aravamd@gmail.com) is corresponding author. Author affiliations
and ORCID links can be found in the Appendix to the article.
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Findings From the GoPA! 2015 and 2020 Surveys
113
and 42.1% of the countries, respectively. PA surveillance, policy, and research scores decreased or remained at a low level in 8.3%,
15.8%, and 28.6% of the countries, respectively. The highest capacity for PA promotion was found in Europe, the lowest in Africa
and low- and lower-middle-income countries. Although a large percentage of the world’s population benefit from at least some PA
policy, surveillance, and research efforts in their countries, 49.6 million people are without PA surveillance, 629.4 million people
are without PA policy, and 108.7 million live in countries without any PA research output. A total of 6.3 billion people or 88.2% of
the world’s population live in countries where PA promotion capacity should be significantly improved. Conclusion: Despite PA is
essential for health, there are large inequalities between countries and world regions in their capacity to promote PA. Coordinated
efforts are needed to reduce the inequalities and improve the global capacity for PA promotion.
Keywords: epidemiology, guidelines and recommendations, health promotion, measurement, public health practice
Before the 2019 SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic, it was
estimated that approximately 1 in 4 adults did not meet the World
Health Organization’s (WHO) recommendations for physical
activity (PA).1 This has been widely recognized as a global health
problem, primarily due to the increased risks of cardiovascular
disease, several types of cancer, type 2 diabetes, and a range of
other chronic diseases associated with insufficient PA.2,3 Growing
evidence from 2020 and 2021 has shown that the COVID-19
pandemic has had a detrimental impact on PA levels globally4,5
further exacerbating what was already a major public health issue.5–8
To tackle this problem, it is important for countries to have
national policies that support a physically active lifestyle. PA
research and surveillance are needed to ensure that such policies
are effective and based on empirical evidence. PA surveillance,
policy, and research can therefore be considered as 3 pillars
underpinning PA promotion.9
The Global Observatory for Physical Activity (GoPA!)10
was established in 2012 as an independent evidence- and expertbased surveillance system to monitor and evaluate national PA
surveillance, policy, and research worldwide. As such, GoPA!
facilitates evidence-based PA promotion and supports global
and national PA advocacy (http://www.globalphysicalactivity
observatory.com/). In 2015 GoPA! published its first report on
worldwide PA surveillance, policy, and research, producing PA
profiles (the Country Cards) for 139 countries.11,12 The report
identified a wide range of gaps and differences in PA surveillance,
policy, and research across countries, world regions, and income
groups. It was estimated that one-third of the countries had periodic
surveillance, one-quarter had standalone PA policies, and two-thirds
had PA research outputs, thus consolidating the urgent case for
periodic monitoring of these indicators.11
The second GoPA! data collection was conducted from 2019 to
2020 (referred to as “GoPA! 2020 survey”), to enable evaluation of
national and global changes in the capacity for PA promotion.9 Such
evaluation was needed to support global PA leadership and advocacy
and to improve national capacities for PA promotion. The aim of this
paper was to assess the trends in PA surveillance, policy, and research
globally, based on data from the GoPA! 2015 and 2020 surveys.
Collection and Processing of Country-Specific Data
Sample of Countries. Consistent with the protocol and standardized methodology established before the GoPA! 2015 survey,11,12
we collected data for 217 world countries/states/economies (hereafter referred to as “countries”). A full list of countries can be found
elsewhere.9 The same protocol was used in the GoPA! 2020 survey
to ensure comparability of results between countries and over time.11
Only countries that had their data approved by Country Contacts
were included in the analysis of this paper.
For some of the analyses, countries were grouped into 6 WHO
regions, including Africa (AFRO), Eastern Mediterranean (EMRO),
Europe (EURO), The Americas (PAHO), South-East Asia (SEARO),
and Western Pacific (WPRO).13 Countries were also grouped by their
gross national income per capita into High Income (HIC), Upper
Middle Income (UMIC), Lower Middle Income (LMIC), and Low
Income (LIC), according to the 2020 World Bank’s classification.14
Information on total population and Gini inequality index was
obtained from the World Bank14 and Our World in Data15 websites.
The GoPA! working group conducted comprehensive, systematic searches to identify national PA surveys and
surveillance systems. The search for the GoPA! 2015 survey was
conducted from July 2014 to September 2014, while the search for
the GoPA! 2020 survey was conducted from April 2019 to August
2019. There were no language restrictions, and the team members
doing the searches were fluent in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Documents in these languages were thus included if they were
relevant to the search topic. The searches included the following
sources: (1) Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) Program16;
(2) the WHO STEPwise Approach to NCD Risk Factor Surveillance
(STEPS) Report17; (3) Google using “national survey”, “physical
activity”, and a country name as search terms; (4) Google using
“Non-communicable disease”, “NCD”, “risk factors”, and “national
survey” as search terms; (5) Google using a country name, “national
survey”, and “NCD” as search terms; (6) the World Health Survey
(WHS)18; and (7) information sourced from Guthold et al1 at the
WHO (only in the GoPA! 2020 survey).
PA Surveillance.
PA Policy. The GoPA! working group conducted comprehensive
Methods
Identification of Country Contacts
GoPA! country representatives, also known as “Country Contacts”,
were invited to participate in GoPA!. Through their work and
experience as PA researchers, policymakers, and practitioners,
most Country Contacts represent academic and government sectors
in the areas of PA and/or noncommunicable disease (NCD) prevention. An active search for new members is ongoing for the countries
without a representative. Description of identification methods and
complete list of Country Contacts can be found elsewhere.9,11
systematized searches through WHO MiNDbank, Google, and
PubMed using “physical activity”, “national policy”, and “national
plan” as search terms to identify national PA plans and other PArelated policies. The search for the GoPA! 2015 survey was
conducted from July 2014 to September 2014, while the search
for the GoPA! 2020 survey was conducted from April to August
2019. There were no language restrictions, and the team members
conducting the searches were fluent in English, Spanish, and
Portuguese. Documents in these languages were thus included if
they were relevant to the search topic. In addition, before the 2020
survey, the GoPA! working group developed the GoPA! Policy
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Inventory (version 3.0), to collect more detailed information on
national PA policies directly from the Country Contacts. The
development and data collection methods of the GoPA! Policy
Inventory are described elsewhere.19
PA Research. The GoPA! working group conducted a systematic
review of peer-reviewed articles to assess the quantity of PA
research that was conducted using country-specific data and published between 1950 and 2019. The review was performed in
accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic
Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and registered
in the PROSPERO database (ref: CRD42017070153). The
searches were conducted from August 2017 to May 2020 in
PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. Details about
the literature search can be found elsewhere.9,10,12,20
The population-adjusted contribution to worldwide PA
research was estimated for each country using the following
ðcountry’s articlesÞ=ðcountry’s populationÞ
formula: ðworldwide
total articlesÞ=ðworwide populationÞ. To be considered
as part of the country’s research output, the article had to
explicitly show that the research was conducted in the country
or included local data. A score above 1 indicates a contribution to
worldwide PA research above the global average and a score
below 1 indicates a contribution below the global average. For
each country, the score was estimated for the 2010–2014 and
2015–2019 periods.
Data Assessment and Approval
The GoPA! data collected through literature searches were reviewed and verified in 2015 and 2020 by representatives for 139
and 164 countries, respectively. Country Contacts could complement the information found in the literature searches with documents in the country’s native language. For the purpose of
comparisons between the first and second surveys we used the
data from 133 countries for which country contacts verified data in
both surveys.
Table 1
Scoring System
The GoPA! conceptual model for quantifying country-level
capacity for PA promotion (ie, an aggregate of data on surveillance,
policy, and research for PA) was used to assign a rating for each
country.21 The scoring protocol and variable definitions are
described in Table 1. Country Contacts revised and approved
the country data, and the core research team scored and analyzed
it based on the standardized scoring system presented in Table 1.
More details on development of the country capacity categorization
for PA promotion can be found elsewhere.21
Data Analysis
Descriptive analyses of surveillance, policy, and research indicators were conducted for all countries in the sample and stratified by
world region and income group. PA surveillance, policy, and
research progress were determined based on comparisons between
the first and second surveys (Table 1). The statistical analyses were
conducted in STATA (version 17.0, StataCorp) and the graphs
were conducted in R (version 4.1.3, R Foundation for Statistical
Computing).
Results
Global Coverage
A total of 139 countries had representatives in the GoPA! 2015
survey (covering 64.1% of the countries and 84.0% of the world’s
population), and 164 countries had representatives in the GoPA!
2020 survey (covering 75.6% of the countries and 98.8% of the
world’s population). The number of countries with representatives
in GoPA! surveys increased by 18.0% from 2015 to 2020. Of the
164 countries in 2020, 133 were also represented in 2015, while 6
countries (Bahrain, Bulgaria, Greenland, Maldives, Swaziland, and
Tunisia) lost their representation (due to staff turnover of dedicated
country contacts in most cases), and representatives from 31 new
Assessment of Country Progress in Physical Activity Surveillance, Policy, and Research Capacity
Categories’
designation
Green: Improved
or stayed at the
highest level of the
indicator
Yellow: Stayed at
the same level of
the indicator
Red: Decreased or
stayed at the lowest level of the
indicator
Black: No data
available for the
indicator
National physical activity surveillance National physical activity policy
Green: Periodic physical activity surveillance
(first, most recent, and next surveys were
determined from the 2015 and 2020 GoPA!
surveys) OR an increase in the number of
surveys identified in the 2020 GoPA! survey
Yellow: First and most recent surveys were
determined, but not a plan for a next or future
survey including physical activity
Population-adjusted
physical activity research
contribution
Green: Standalone physical activity policies
in the 2015 and 2020 GoPA! surveys OR
transition to a standalone policy in the 2020
GoPA! survey
Green: Physical activity research
was above the global average in
both 2010–2014 AND 2015–
2019 periods
Yellow: NCD plans including physical
activity in the 2015 and 2020 GoPA! surveys
OR a standalone physical activity policy in
the 2015 but not in the 2020 GoPA! survey
Red: Only a first survey was determined from Red: NCD plans including physical activity
the 2015 and 2020 GoPA! surveys (not a
in the 2015 OR 2020 GoPA! survey (but not
most recent or next/future survey) OR there both)
was no surveillance data for the 2020 GoPA!
survey
Black: No physical activity surveillance data Black: No physical activity policy data
Yellow: Physical activity
research was above the global
average in 2010–2014 OR 2015–
2019 periods
Red: Physical activity research
was below the global average in
both 2010–2014 AND 2015–
2019 periods
Black: No physical activity
research articles
Abbreviation: GoPA!, Global Observatory for Physical Activity; NCD, noncommunicable disease.
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Figure 1 — Physical activity surveillance, policy, and research characteristics by world region based on the 2020 GoPA! survey. AFRO indicates
Africa; EMRO, Eastern Mediterranean; EURO, Europe; GoPA!, Global Observatory for Physical Activity; NCD, noncommunicable disease; PAHO, The
Americas; SEARO, South-East Asia; WPRO, Western Pacific.
Note: The lighter-colored bars show the indicators’ lowest level (ie, surveillance: no surveillance, policy: no plan, population-adjusted research: no research
output). The darker-colored bars show the indicators’ highest level (ie, surveillance: 3 national surveys, policy: standalone physical activity plan, research: above
average of publications). For the most accurate interpretation of this graph (full range of color) please refer to the electronic version of the manuscript.
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countries from Eastern Europe and the Caribbean and Pacific
Islands contributed to the survey in 2020. In the GoPA! 2020
survey, 48 countries (29.3% of the GoPA! countries) had more than
one Country Contact. The number of countries with more than one
GoPA! representative has increased since 2015.
The survey participation increased from 2015 to 2020 across
all income groups and most world regions except SEARO as
follows: HICs (+3.3%), UMICs (+13.0%), LMICs (+20.0%),
and LICs (+8.0%), AFRO (+21.3%), EMRO (+9.1%), EURO
(+8.1%), PAHO (+18.2%), SEARO (−9.1%), and WPRO (+3.3%).
In both GoPA! surveys, a higher participation rate was associated with higher country income groups. Only 34.5% of LICs
participated in GoPA! 2020 survey compared with 85.4% of
HICs. The second set of GoPA! Country Cards including 164
countries can be found in the “second Physical Activity Almanac”,9
available at the GoPA! website (http://www.globalphysicalactivity
observatory.com/).
Status of Global PA
The GoPA! 2020 survey found that 92.1% of countries conducted
at least one national survey on PA, 66.5% of countries at least 2
surveys, while only 18.3% of countries had 3 or more surveys and a
plan for a future survey. The percentage of countries with periodic
PA surveillance varied by region and income group, from 30.4% in
EURO to 8.3% in AFRO region (Figure 1), and from 27.1% in
HICs to 0.0% in LICs (Figure 2).
The percentage of countries with PA policies also varied by
world region (Figure 1). We found that 37.8% of the countries had a
standalone PA policy, 45.1% had a PA policy embedded in their
NCD prevention plan, and 17.1% did not have a PA policy. The
highest percentage of countries with a standalone policy was in the
EURO region (65.2%), followed by the PAHO and EMRO regions
(35.7% in each). In terms of the income groups, 91.4% of HICs and
only 10.0% of LICs had a PA policy, either standalone or included in
an NCD policy (Figure 2). This constitutes almost a 10-fold difference between HICs and LICs in the prevalence of PA policies.
Furthermore, for 15.9% of countries, we found no PA research
output. In the EURO and WPRO regions, 78.3% and 73.3% of
countries, respectively, had above average contributions to the
global research output. For 3 quarters of countries in the SEARO
region, the contribution was below the global average. The AFRO
region had the second highest (after SEARO) percentage of countries with “low” research productivity. In most HICs and UMICs,
research contribution was above the global average and in most
LMICs and LICs, the contribution was below the global average.
The overall capacity for PA promotion varied greatly across
world regions and income groups. The highest overall capacity was
found for the EURO region (all 3 indicators at the highest level),
followed by the WPRO region (2 indicators at the highest level and 1
indicator at the middle level), and PAHO (2 indicators at the highest
level and 1 indicator at the lowest level). The lowest overall capacity
for PA promotion was found for the AFRO region, with 1 indicator
at the middle level and 2 indicators at the lowest level (Figure 3).
When translated into population estimates, the data suggest
that 2.7 billion people (37.1%) lived in a country with periodic PA
surveillance, 4.5 billion people (62.3%) in a country with at least 2
surveys, and 49.6 million people (0.7%) in a country with no
surveys (Figure 4). In addition, 3.4 billion people (47.5%) lived in a
country with a standalone PA policy, 3.1 billion people (43.7%)
with PA included in an NCD prevention policy, and 629.4 million
people (8.8%) in a country without a policy (Figure 4). For
research, it was estimated that 1.7 billion people (24.1%) lived
in a country with PA research productivity above the global
average, 5.3 billion people (74.4%) with a productivity below
the global average, and 108.7 million people (1.5%) without any
PA research output (Figure 4).
Trends in Global PA Based on the First and Second
GoPA! Surveys
PA Surveillance. The comparison of PA indicators included 133
countries. In regard to national PA surveillance, the majority of
countries improved or remained at the same level (Figure 5). The
WPRO region had the highest share of countries (69.0%) where the
indicator improved or stayed at the highest level, compared with
the AFRO region where 15.4% of countries stayed (ie, have never
had periodic surveillance) or decreased to the lowest level of the
indicator (ie, previously reported any kind of surveillance but in the
2020 survey did not report current surveillance efforts or future
plans). A decreased capacity was reported in 5.0%, 3.4%, and 2.6%
of the EURO, WPRO, and PAHO countries, respectively (data not
shown in tables).
In terms of income groups, an equal or increased surveillance
capacity was found for 49.2% of the HICs, 50.0% of UMICs,
40.7% of LMICs, and 60.0% of LICs. Twenty percent of the LICs
decreased their score or stayed at the lowest level of the indicator
(Figure 6).
PA Policy. The comparison of PA policy indicators showed that
most countries also improved or remained at the same level
(Figure 5). EURO was the region with the highest percentage of
countries (71.8%) that improved or stayed at the highest level for
this indicator. AFRO was the region with the highest percentage of
countries (30.8%) that stayed or decreased to the lowest level for
the indicator (ie, did not report the existence of any policy or
reported the existence of an NCD plan including PA in only one of
the two GoPA! surveys). A decreased capacity was reported in
11.8%, 10.0%, 5.1%, and 3.4% of PAHO, EMRO, EURO, and
WPRO countries, respectively (data not shown in tables).
More than half of HICs (60.0%) improved or stayed at the
highest level for this indicator, while this was achieved by 38.9% of
UMICs, 7.4% LMICs, and none of the LICs. Also, 20.0% of LICs
decreased or stayed at the lowest level for this indicator (Figure 6).
PA Research. The comparison of PA research indicators showed
that most countries in the EURO and WPRO regions (76.9% and
55.2%, respectively) improved or stayed at the highest level of the
indicator, whereas 75.0% of countries in the SEARO region and
69.0% of countries in the AFRO region decreased or remained at
the lowest level (Figure 5). The population-adjusted research
productivity improved or stayed the same in 72.3% of HICs,
19.4% of UMICs, and 7.4% of LMICs. The population-adjusted
research productivity in all LICs decreased or stayed at the lowest
level for this indicator (ie, a contribution to worldwide PA research
below the global average) (Figure 6).
When analyzing the changes in all 3 indicators collectively,
38.5%, 10.3%, and 5.9% of countries in the EURO, WPRO, and
PAHO regions, respectively, improved or stayed at the highest
level for all 3 indicators. In the SEARO and EMRO regions, 25.0%
and 10.0% of the countries stayed at the same level for all 3
indicators, respectively. Twenty-three percent of countries in the
AFRO region decreased or stayed at the lowest level for all 3
indicators (data not shown in tables).
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Figure 2 — Physical activity surveillance, policy, and research characteristics by income group based on the 2020 GoPA! survey. GoPA! indicates
Global Observatory for Physical Activity; HIC, high-income country; LIC, low-income country; LMIC, lower-middle-income country; NCD,
noncommunicable disease; UMIC, upper-middle-income country.
Note: The lighter-colored bars show the indicators’ lowest level (ie, surveillance: no surveillance, policy: no plan, population-adjusted research: no research
output). The darker-colored bars show the indicators’ highest level (ie, surveillance: 3 national surveys, policy: standalone physical activity plan, research: above
average of publications). For the most accurate interpretation of this graph (full range of color) please refer to the electronic version of the manuscript.
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Figure 3 — Estimated number of countries with low, medium, and high capacity for physical activity promotion. AFRO indicates Africa; EMRO,
Eastern Mediterranean; EURO, Europe; PAHO, The Americas; SEARO, South-East Asia; WPRO, Western Pacific.
Note: The levels of the indicators, from lightest to darkest, are: Stayed at the same level of the indicator (light color), Improved or stayed at the highest level
of the indicator, No data available for the indicator, and Decreased or stayed at the lowest level of the indicator (dark color). For the most accurate
interpretation of this graph (full range of color) please refer to the electronic version of the manuscript.
Discussion
The key findings on the status and progress in PA surveillance,
policy, and research based on data from the GoPA! 2015 and 2020
surveys are as follows: First, the overall capacity for PA promotion
varied greatly across countries, world regions, and income groups.
The highest capacity was found for EURO, followed by WPRO and
PAHO regions, and the lowest was found for the AFRO region and
LICs and LMICs. This translated to an estimated 145 million people
or 2.0% of the world’s population living in countries with a low
capacity for or no data on PA promotion. Second, although most
countries benefit from some kind of PA surveillance, policy, and
research, having periodic national PA surveillance, standalone
policies, and high research productivity (ie, all of the 3 elements
underpinning PA promotion) is very uncommon. In particular, an
estimated 6.3 billion people or 88.2% of the world’s population live
in countries where the capacity for PA promotion can be significantly improved; 3.1 billion of these people live in LICs and LMICs.
Third, almost 70.0% of the world’s population (5.0 billion people)
live in a country without periodic PA surveillance, 10.0% of the
world’s population (629.4 million people) live in a country without
any PA policy, and at least 75.0% of the population (5.4 billion
people) live in a country with PA research productivity below the
global average. Fourth, the global 5-year progress in surveillance,
policy, and research indicators was modest, with LICs and the
AFRO, EMRO, and SEARO regions lagging even further behind.
Many individuals live in countries that do not have adequate
PA surveillance, policy, and research for facilitating PA promotion.23–25 PA is often incorrectly considered to be an individual
rather than collective responsibility,26 while, in fact, political,
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Figure 4 — Global physical activity surveillance, policy, and research: GoPA! categories by country population, income, and region.
Note: Random noise was added to minimize countries’ overplotting according to H. Wickham22 with the countries maintaining their position based on the
indicator and income group. For example, POL and ITA both have 2 national surveys (upper left) and are high-income countries; the random noise prevents
them from overlapping but keeps them in their respective positions inside the cell, as determined by the indicator and their respective income group
classification. AFRO indicates Africa; ARG, Argentina; BGD, Bangladesh; BRA, Brazil; CHN, China; COL, Colombia; EGY, Egypt, Arab Rep.; EMRO,
Eastern Mediterranean; ESP, Spain; EURO, Europe; ETH, Ethiopia; DEU, Germany; GoPA!, Global Observatory for Physical Activity; HIC, high-income
country; IND, India; IDN, Indonesia; IRN, Iran, Islamic Rep.; IRQ, Iraq; ITA, Italy; KEN, Kenya; KOR, Korea, Rep.; LIC, low-income country; LMIC,
lower-middle-income country; MYS, Malaysia; MEX, Mexico; MAR, Morocco; MOZ, Mozambique; MMR, Myanmar; PAHO, The Americas; PAK,
Pakistan; PER, Peru; PHL, Philippines; POL, Poland; RUS, Russian Federation; SEARO, South-East Asia; SAU, Saudi Arabia; TZA, Tanzania; THA,
Thailand; TUR, Turkey; UGA, Uganda; UKR, Ukraine; UMIC, upper-middle-income country; USA, United States; VNM, Vietnam; WPRO, Western
Pacific; ZAF, South Africa. Note: The regions from lightest to darkest on the color scale are: PAHO, EURO, EMRO, AFRO, SEARO, and WPRO. For the
most accurate interpretation of this graph (full range of color) please refer to the electronic version of the manuscript.
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Figure 5 — Progress in national physical activity surveillance, policy, and research by world region.
Note: The reference period was 2015–2020 for surveillance and policy and 2010–2019 for research. The inner circles in each radial plot accumulate a
percentage, thus the first inner circle represents 20.0% and the last inner circle represents 100.0%. Each region is represented by a color, for example, the
first radial plot (top left) shows that 69.0% of countries in the WPRO region (dark blue) improved or stayed at the highest surveillance level. AFRO
indicates Africa; EMRO, Eastern Mediterranean; EURO, Europe; PAHO, The Americas; SEARO, South-East Asia; WPRO, Western Pacific.
Note: The regions from lightest to darkest on the color scale are: PAHO, EURO, EMRO, AFRO, SEARO, and WPRO. For the most accurate interpretation
of this graph (full range of color) please refer to the electronic version of the manuscript.
social, economic, and built environments play key roles in shaping
population PA behavior.27–32 Putting the “blame” on individuals
while failing to prioritize PA in national public health agendas is
malpractice and may explain why the global prevalence of PA has
not improved in the last decades.1,33,34
According to our study, most countries do not have periodic
PA surveillance. This finding is in accordance with the new NCD
Progress Monitor 2022 report showing that fewer than 20.0% of
WHO Member States conducted a STEPS survey or other comprehensive health examination survey every 5 years.35 This widespread lack of periodic PA surveillance hinders the implementation
and evaluation of evidence-based PA policies. Public health
initiatives to increase PA need to be clearly prioritized in national
policies, and PA surveillance is of utmost importance for assessing
the overall effectiveness of these interventions. Improving national
surveillance must be a public health priority, to monitor prevalence
and trends and to better inform the development and evaluation of
national health policies.
Progress in the development of national PA policies has been
slow and unequal. Standalone PA policies are seen more frequently in HICs and in the EURO region, compared with other
income groups and world regions. From a health equity perspective and in accordance with the United Nations’ declaration on the
prevention of NCDs,36 LMICs and LICs countries should be
supported in their efforts to increase funding, implement surveillance systems25 that are consistent and sustainable, improve
research and public health capacity, governance and political
will related to PA promotion. Whole-of-government and systems
approaches that facilitate physically active lifestyles are also
needed37,38 as recommended in the WHO Global Action Plan
for Physical Activity39,40 and GoPA!-like policy monitoring initiatives such as the NCD Country Capacity Survey from the WHO
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Figure 6 — Progress in national physical activity surveillance, policy, and research by income group.
Note: The reference period was 2015–2020 for surveillance and policy and 2010–2019 for research. The inner circles in each radial plot accumulate a
percentage, thus the first inner circle represents 20.0% and the last inner circle represents 100.0%. Each income group is represented by a color, for
example, the first radial plot (top left) shows that 60.0% of the LICs (dark green) improved or stayed at the highest surveillance level. HIC indicates highincome country; LIC, low-income country; LMIC, lower-middle-income country; UMIC, upper-middle-income country.
Note: The income groups from lightest to darkest on the color scale are: HIC, UMIC, LMIC, and LIC. For the most accurate interpretation of this graph
(full range of color) please refer to the electronic version of the manuscript.
Global Health Observatory,41 and the Health-Enhancing Physical
Activity (HEPA) monitoring framework for the European Union.42 These approaches may help countries tackle the rising
burden of NCDs25 and build healthier and more resilient populations in the context of the current challenges of pandemics and
climate change.43
Even though LMICs are home to more than 80.0% of the
world’s population, they collectively conduct less PA research than
HICs. More PA research infrastructure is urgently needed in
LMICs to inform the development of contextually relevant policies
and programs for this major part of the global population.39 Due to
limited resources,44–46 building research capacity in LMICs is often
challenging and requires coordinated efforts at individual, institutional, and national levels,47,48 and familiarity with the local
context and its challenges. The academic community in HICs
should help develop global capacity for PA research by sharing
their expertise and resources with researchers from LMICs.
The AFRO region had the lowest capacity for PA promotion
and showed limited progress between 2015 and 2020. There are
several potential explanations. First, countries in this region
remain focused on the prevention and management of prevalent
infectious diseases such as malaria, HIV/AIDS, and tuberculosis.
Infectious diseases present competing priorities for policymakers
considering how to address PA promotion and the dual burden of
NCDs and infectious diseases. Second, most countries in subSaharan Africa, where NCDs are highly prevalent and have been
on the rise over the past 2 decades,49,50 are LICs or LMICs with
limited resources to develop national PA surveillance, policy, and
research. Third, despite the previous efforts of the African
Physical Activity Network to increase PA capacity in the region,
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developing a viable and sustainable workforce remains a challenge for many countries.51,52
Strengths and Limitations
The key strengths of this study are: (1) analysis of PA surveillance,
policy, and research indicators from two-thirds of the world’s
countries verified by Country Contacts (local experts); (2) first
of its kind evaluation of temporal changes in PA surveillance,
policy, and research based on 2 surveys (2015 and 2020) with
standardized indicators; (3) a good representation of countries from
different world regions and income groups; and (4) the scoring
system employed provided a straightforward measure of progress
of PA surveillance, policy, and research with meaningful comparisons across world regions and income groups.
However, some limitations of the study must be taken into
account while interpreting our findings. First, 53 countries were
not included in the current study because they did not have
GoPA! Country Contacts. Most of these 53 countries are in the
AFRO and EMRO regions, and this lack of data may have affected
the evaluation and comparisons between regions. Second, only the
availability of reported PA policies was analyzed. It is possible that in
some countries PA policies and research production exist within the
gray literature or informal documents but were not reported by the
Country Contact or were not picked up by the comprehensive
searches. Third, other monitoring efforts use different indicators to
quantify various elements of PA policy limiting comparability. For
example, the HEPA monitoring framework for the European Union42
and the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance53 are limited to the
European Union countries and children, respectively. Fourth, GoPA!
has yet to conduct case studies to shed light on the country-specific
circumstances that contributed to the observed progress on indicators
but might not have been captured by the scoring method employed.
Finally, we did not assess the quality of PA surveillance, policy, and
research. Having systems in place that do not include underrepresented subgroups in the population or that are not implemented with
fidelity may not improve the capacity for PA promotion. Although
such an analysis would provide additional important insights into the
capacity for PA promotion, it was beyond the scope of the current study.
Conclusions
The overall capacity for PA promotion is remarkably unequal across
world regions and income groups, and global 5-year progress in PA
surveillance, policy, and research was modest. Therefore, the majority
of the world’s population live in countries where PA promotion
capacity should be significantly improved. Most countries do not have
periodic surveillance of PA and a standalone PA policy. In nearly
every sixth country, no research on PA was conducted from 2010 to
2020. GoPA! will continue to monitor PA surveillance, policy, and
research globally and identify strategies to increase the capacity for
national PA promotion. GoPA! will also continue to make the case for
national PA promotion using multisectoral approaches consistent with
the WHO Global Action Plan for Physical Activity.40 Ensuring
healthy, resilient, and active populations and communities worldwide
remains a key public health goal.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank all GoPA! Country Contacts and their teams
for reviewing, providing, and approving data for their countries. We
appreciate their contributions over the past decade. In particular we would
like to thank: Aaron Sim (Singapore), Abchir Houdon, (Djibouti), Angela
Koh (Singapore), Audrey Tong (Singapore), Bharathi Viswanathan (Seychelles), Franklyn Edwin Prieto Alvarado (Colombia), Enrique Medina
Sandino (Nicaragua), Galina Obreja (Republic of Moldova), Geoffrey P.
Whitfield (United States), Gladys Bequer (Cuba), Isabel Cardenas
(Bolivia), Juan Rivera (Mexico), Kyaw Zin Thant (Myanmar), Lisa Indar
(Caribbean Islands), Louay Labban (Syrian Arab Republic), Lyna E.
Fredericks (Virgin Islands), Migle Baceviciene (Lithuania), Mya Lay
Sein (Myanmar), Nazan Yardim (Turkey), Olavur Jokladal (Faeroe
Islands), Omar Badjie (Gambia), Saad Hassan Aden (Djibouti), Sawadogo
Amidou (Burkina Faso), Seyed Ali Hosseini (Iran), Sigridur Lara
Gudmundsdottir (Iceland), Takese Foga (Jamaica), Tatiana I Andreeva
(Ukraine), Than Naing Soe (Myanmar), Thelma Sanchez (Costa Rica),
Tigri Tertulie Lamatou Nawal (Benin), Vera Amanda Solís (Nicaragua), and
Wilbroad Mutale (Zambia). We also wish to thank to Cintia Borges and
Paulo Ferreira from Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Brazil for the graphic
design and GoPA! website management. This research was funded in part
by the University of California San Diego, United States, Universidad
Federal de Pelotas, Brazil, and Universidad de los Andes, Colombia.
Author Contributions: ARV, PH, and MP coordinated the data collection
within the GoPA! surveys and conceptualized the study. GoPA! Country
Contacts contributed to data collection, revision, and approval of the
physical activity surveillance, policy, and research indicators. ARV,
JMG, and AN analyzed the data and drafted the first version of the
manuscript. ZP, DS, BK, KS, EJ, EDSK, ALO, JR, SI, SA, AJ, MP,
PH provided feedback on the first version of the manuscript. ZP, ALO, MP,
PH wrote parts of the manuscript. ARV, MP, JMG, AN, ZP, BK, KS, EJ,
EDSK, ALO, JR, SI, SA, AJ, MC, DS, IML, AB, ML, HKIII, UE, GH, KP,
CF, PH, MP provided feedback on the second version of the manuscript. All
authors revised and approved the final version of the manuscript.
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Appendix: Author Affiliations and ORCID Numbers
Andrea Ramírez Varela,1 Pedro C. Hallal,2 Juliana Mejía Grueso,1 Željko Pedišić,3 Deborah Salvo,4 Anita Nguyen,5
Bojana Klepac,3,6 Adrian Bauman,7 Katja Siefken,8 Erica Hinckson,9 Adewale L. Oyeyemi,10,11 Justin Richards,12
Elena Daniela Salih Khidir,13 Shigeru Inoue,14 Shiho Amagasa,14,15 Alejandra Jauregui,16 Marcelo Cozzensa da Silva,2
I-Min Lee,17,18 Melody Ding,7 Harold W. Kohl III,4,19 Ulf Ekelund,20,21 Gregory W. Heath,22 Kenneth E. Powell,23
Charlie Foster,24 Aamir Raoof Memon,3,25 Abdoulaye Doumbia,26 Abdul Roof Rather,27 Abdur Razzaque,28 Adama Diouf,29
Adriano Akira Hino,30 Albertino Damasceno,31 Alem Deksisa Abebe,32 Alex Antonio Florindo,33 Alice Mannocci,34
Altyn Aringazina,35 Andrea Backović Juričan,36 Andrea Poffet,37 Andrew Decelis,38 Angela Carlin,39 Angelica Enescu,40
Angélica María Ochoa Avilés,41 Anna Kontsevaya,42 Annamaria Somhegyi,43 Anne Vuillemin,44 Asmaa El Hamdouchi,45
Asse Amangoua Théodore,46 Bojan Masanovic,47 Brigid M. Lynch,48,49,50 Catalina Medina,16 Cecilia del Campo,51
Chalchisa Abdeta,52 Changa Moreways,53 Chathuranga Ranasinghe,54 Christina Howitt,55 Christine Cameron,56
Danijel Jurakić,57 David Martinez-Gomez,58,59,60 Dawn Tladi,61 Debrework Tesfaye Diro,62 Deepti Adlakha,63 Dušan Mitić,64
Duško Bjelica,47 Elżbieta Biernat,65 Enock M. Chisati,66 Estelle Victoria Lambert,67 Ester Cerin,68,69 Eun-Young Lee,70
Eva-Maria Riso,71 Felicia Cañete Villalba,72 Felix Assah,73 Franjo Lovrić,74 Gerardo A. Araya-Vargas,75,76
Giuseppe La Torre,77 Gloria Isabel Niño Cruz,78 Gul Baltaci,79 Haleama Al Sabbah,80 Hanna Nalecz,81 Hilde Liisa Nashandi,82
Hyuntae Park,83 Inés Revuelta-Sánchez,76 Jackline Jema Nusurupia,84 Jaime Leppe Zamora,85 Jaroslava Kopcakova,86
Javier Brazo-Sayavera,87 Jean-Michel Oppert,88 Jinlei Nie,89 John C. Spence,90 John Stewart Bradley,91 Jorge Mota,92
Josef Mitáš,93 Junshi Chen,94 Kamilah S Hylton,95 Karel Fromel,93 Karen Milton,96 Katja Borodulin,97
Keita Amadou Moustapha,98,99,100 Kevin Martinez-Folgar,101 Lara Nasreddine,102 Lars Breum Christiansen,103
Laurent Malisoux,104 Leapetswe Malete,105 Lorelie C. Grepo-Jalao,106 Luciana Zaranza Monteiro,107 Lyutha K. Al Subhi,108
Maja Dakskobler,36 Majed Alnaji,109 Margarita Claramunt Garro,110 Maria Hagströmer,111 Marie H. Murphy,39
Matthew Mclaughlin,112 Mercedes Rivera-Morales,113 Mickey Scheinowitz,114 Mimoza Shkodra,115 Monika Pi˛atkowska,116
Moushumi Chaudhury,117 Naif Ziyad Alrashdi,118,119 Nanette Mutrie,120 Niamh Murphy,121 Norhayati Haji Ahmad,122
Nour A. Obeidat,123 Nubia Yaneth Ruiz Gómez,124 Nucharapon Liangruenrom,125 Oscar Díaz Arnesto,126
Oscar Flores-Flores,127,128 Oscar Incarbone,129 Oyun Chimeddamba,130 Pascal Bovet,131,132 Pedro Magalhães,133
Pekka Jousilahti,134 Piyawat Katewongsa,125,135 Rafael Alexander Leandro Gómez,124 Rawan Awni Shihab,123 Reginald Ocansey,136
Réka Veress,137 Richard Marine,138 Rolando Carrizales-Ramos,139,140 Saad Younis Saeed,141 Said El-Ashker,142
Samuel Green,143 Sandra Kasoma,144 Santiago Beretervide,145 Se-Sergio Baldew,146 Selby Nichols,147 Selina Khoo,148
Seyed Ali Hosseini,149 Shifalika Goenka,150,151 Shima Gholamalishahi,152 Soewarta Kosen,153 Sofie Compernolle,154
Stefan Paul Enescu,40 Stevo Popovic,47 Susan Paudel,41 Susana Andrade,41 Sylvia Titze,156 Tamu Davidson,157
Theogene Dusingizimana,158 Thomas E. Dorner,159 Tracy L. Kolbe-Alexander,160,161 Tran Thanh Huong,162
Vanphanom Sychareun,163 Vera Jarevska-Simovska,164 Viliami Kulikefu Puloka,165 Vincent Onywera,166 Wanda Wendel-Vos,167
Yannis Dionyssiotis,168 and Michael Pratt5
1
School of Medicine, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
13
Aspetar Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Hospital, Doha, Qatar
2
Post-graduate Program in Epidemiology, Federal University of Pelotas,
Pelotas, RS, Brazil
Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Tokyo Medical
University, Tokyo, Japan
3
Institute for Health and Sport, Victoria University, Melbourne, VIC,
Australia
15
Graduate School of Public Health, Teikyo University, Tokyo,
Japan
4
16
Department of Kinesiology and Health Education, The University of
Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
5
School of Medicine, Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and
Human Longevity Science, University of California San Diego, La Jolla,
CA, USA
6
14
Department of Physical Activity and Healthy Lifestyles, Center for
Nutrition and Health Research, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública,
Cuernavaca, Mexico
17
Division of Preventive Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital,
Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
18
Mitchell Institute for Education and Health Policy, Victoria University,
Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public
Health, Boston, MA, USA
7
19
University of Texas Health Science Center, School of Public Health,
Austin, TX, USA
School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
8
Department Performance, Neuroscience, Therapy & Health, MSH Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
9
Human Potential Centre, School of Sport and Recreation, Auckland
University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand
10
Department of Physiotherapy, Redeemer’s University, Ede, Nigeria
11
Department of Physiotherapy, University of Maiduguri, Maiduguri,
Nigeria
12
Te Hau Kori, Faculty of Health, Victoria University Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
20
Department of Sport Medicine, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences,
Oslo, Norway
21
Department of Chronic Diseases, Norwegian Institute of Public Health,
Oslo, Norway
22
College of Medicine Chattanooga, University of Tennessee, Chattanooga, TN, USA
23
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
24
University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
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Ramírez Varela et al
25
Institute of Physiotherapy & Rehabilitation Sciences, Peoples University
of Medical & Health Sciences for Women, Nawabshah, Pakistan
26
National Institute of Youth and Sports Mali, Mali, Bamako
27
Department of Physical Education, School of Education, Central University of Kashmir, Ganderbal, Jammu and Kashmir, India
28
Health Systems and Population Studies Division, International Centre
for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Dhaka, Bangladesh
29
Laboratoire de Recherche en Nutrition et Alimentation Humaine, Faculté
des Sciences et Techniques, Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar
(UCAD), Dakar, Senegal
30
Graduate Program in Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Pontifícia
Universidade Católica do Paraná, Curitiba, PR, Brazil
31
Faculty of Medicine, Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo,
Mozambique
32
Public Health, Adama Hospital Medical College, Adama, Ethiopia
33
School of Arts, Sciences and Humanities at University of São Paulo, São
Paulo, SP, Brazil
34
Faculty of Economics, Universitas Mercatorum, Rome, Italy
35
Department of Public Health, Caspian University, Almaty, Kazakhstan
36
National Institute for Public Health, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Division Prevention of Noncommunicable Diseases, Department of
NCD Prevention, Directorate for Prevention and Health Care, Swiss
Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), Schwarzenburgstrasse,
Switzerland
38
Institute for Physical Education and Sport, University of Malta, Msida,
Malta
39
Centre for Exercise Medicine, Physical Activity and Health, Sports and
Exercise Sciences Research Institute, Ulster University, Newtownabbey,
United Kingdom
40
Researcher, Romania
Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
58
Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Universidad
Autonoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
59
CIBER of Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
60
IMDEA Food Institute, CEI UAM+CSIC, Madrid, Spain
61
Department of Sport Science, University of Botswana, Gaborone,
Botswana
62
Department of Sport Science, Wolaita Sodo University, Sodo,
Ethiopia
63
Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning,
Natural Learning Initiative, College of Design, North Carolina State
University, Raleigh, NC, USA
64
Faculty of Sport and Physical Education, University of Belgrade,
Beograd, Serbia
65
SGH Warsaw School of Economics, Warszawa, Poland
66
Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Kamuzu University of Health
Sciences, Blantyre, Malawi
Research Centre for Health through Physical Activity, Lifestyle and
Sport (HPALS), Division of Physiological Sciences, Department of
Human Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town,
Cape Town, South Africa
68
Mary MacKillop Institute for Health Research, Australian Catholic
University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
69
School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong,
Hong Kong SAR, China
70
School of Kinesiology & Health Studies, Queen’s University, Kingston,
ON, Canada
University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
Department of Bioscience, Universidad de Cuenca, Cuenca, Ecuador
42
National Medical Research Center for Preventive Medicine, Russian
Federation
43
National Center for Spinal Disorders, Budapest, Hungary
72
Universidad Nacional de Asunción, San Lorenzo, Paraguay
73
Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, The University of
Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon
74
44
Laboratoire Motricité Humaine expertise Sport Santé (LAMHESS),
Université Côte d’Azur, Nice, France
45
Unité de Nutrition et Alimentation, Centre National de l’Energie, des
Sciences et des Techniques Nucléaires (CNESTEN), Maroc, Morocco
46
Sport and Physical Activity Division, Institut National Polytechnique
Félix Houphouët-Boigny (INP-HB), Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire
47
Faculty for Sport and Physical Education, University of Montenegro,
Niksic, Montenegro
48
Cancer Epidemiology Division, Cancer Council Victoria, Melbourne,
VIC, Australia
49
Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, the University of Melbourne, Carlton, VIC,
Australia
50
Physical Activity Laboratory, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
51
Researcher, Uruguay
52
Early Start, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia
Sport and Recreation Department, Sports and Recreation Commission,
Harare, Zimbabwe
University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada
57
71
41
54
University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, Barbados
56
67
37
53
55
Faculty of Science and Education, University of Mostar, Mostar, Bosnia
and Herzegovina
75
Escuela de Educación Física y Deportes, Universidad de Costa Rica, San
Pedro, Costa Rica
76
Escuela de Ciencias del Movimiento Humano y Calidad de Vida,
Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica, Heredia, Costa Rica
77
Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
78
School of Physiotherapy, Universidad Industrial de Santander, Bucaramanga, Colombia
79
Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, Güven Health
Group, Turkey
80
Department of Health Sciences, Zayed University, Dubai, United Arab
Emirates
81
Department of Child and Adolescent Health, Institute of Mother and
Child, Warszawa, Poland
82
School of Nursing and Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences and
Veterinary Medicines, University of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia
83
College of Health Science, Dong-A University, Busan, Korea
84
Tanzania Food and Nutrition Center, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
85
School of Physical Therapy, Facultad de Medicina Clínica Alemana,
Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile
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Findings From the GoPA! 2015 and 2020 Surveys
86
Department of Health Psychology and Research Methodology, Faculty of
Medicine, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, Kosice, Slovakia
87
PDU EFISAL, Centro Universitario Regional Noreste, Universidad de la
República, Rivera, Uruguay
88
Nutrition Department, Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital, Sorbonne University,
Paris, France
89
Faculty of Health Sciences and Sports, Macao Polytechnic University,
Macao SAR, China
90
Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, & Recreation, University of Alberta,
Edmonton, AB, Canada
127
117
Human Potential Centre, School of Sport and Recreation, Faculty of
Health and Environmental Sciences, Auckland University of Technology,
Auckland, New Zealand
118
Department of Physical Therapy, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
119
Department of Physical Therapy and Health Rehabilitation, College of
Applied Medical Sciences, Majmaah University, Majmaah, Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia
120
Physical Activity for Health Research Centre, University of Edinburgh,
Edinburgh, Scotland
121
91
Public Health Wales NHS Trust, Wales
92
Research Center in Physical Activity, health and Leisure (CIAFEL), Faculty
of Sports-University of Porto (FADEUP) and Laboratory for Integrative and
Translational Research in Population Health (ITR), Porto, Portugal
Department of Sport and Exercise Science, South East Technological
University, Waterford, Ireland
122
Health Promotion Centre, Ministry of Health, Brunei Darussalam
123
Cancer Control Office, King Hussein Cancer Center, Amman, Jordan
93
Faculty of Physical Culture, Palacký University Olomouc, Olomouc,
Czech Republic
Grupo Interno de Trabajo Actividad Física del Ministerio del Deporte
de Colombia, Colombia
94
125
China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment, Beijing, China
95
Faculty of Science and Sport, University of Technology, Kingston,
Jamaica
124
Institute for Population and Social Research, Mahidol University,
Salaya, Thailand
126
Cardiology Society, Uruguay
96
Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, United
Kingdom
Facultad de Medicina Humana, Centro de Investigación del Envejecimiento (CIEN), Universidad de San Martín de Porres, Lima, Peru
97
128
Age Institute, Finland
98
Directeur Technique Fédération de Basket Mauritanie, Mauritania
Instituto Universitario YMCA miembro de la Coalición Mundial de
Universidades YMCA, Argentina
Instructeur FIBA des Entraineurs, Africa
Ambassadeur ITK de l’Univesrsité de Leipzig, Germany
130
101
Urban Health Collaborative; and Department of Epidemiology and
Biostatistics, Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
102
Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Faculty of Agricultural and
Food Sciences, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
103
Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, University of
Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
104
Department of Precision Health, Luxembourg Institute of Health, Grand
Duchy of Luxembourg, Luxembourg
105
Department of Kinesiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing,
MI, USA
106
107
University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines
Centro Universitário do Distrito Federal (UDF), Brasília, Brazil
108
Department of Food Science and Nutrition, College of Agricultural and
Marine Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman
109
Leaders Development Institute, Ministry of Sport, Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia
110
Dirección de Planificación, Ministerio de Salud, San José, Costa Rica
111
Division of Physiotherapy, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences
and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden
112
Telethon Kids Institute, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA,
Australia
113
Centro de Acción Urbana, Comunitaria y Empresarial (CAUCE), UPRRecinto de Rio Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico
114
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Sylvan Adams Sports Institute,
School of Public Health, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
115
116
Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Cientifica del Sur, Lima,
Peru
129
99
100
127
Physical Education and Sports, AAB Collage, Kosovo Polje, Kosovo
Organisation and Economy, Józef Piłsudski University of Physical
Education in Warsaw, Warszawa, Poland
Health Policy and Management, Global Leadership University, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
131
University Center for Primary Care and Public Health (Unisanté),
Lausanne, Switzerland
132
Ministry of Health, Victoria, Republic of Seychelles
133
Department of Physiological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine of Agostinho Neto University, Luanda, Angola
134
Department of Public Health and Welfare, Finnish Institute for Health
and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland
135
Thailand Physical Activity Knowledge Development Centre, Salaya,
Thailand
136
University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
137
Health-Enhancing Physical Activity Focal Point, Hungary
138
Numed, Dominican Republic
139
Physical Education Department, Universidad Nacional Experimental
Rafael María Baralt, Cabimas, Venezuela
140
Physical Education Department, Universidad del Zulia, Maracaibo,
Venezuela
141
Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine,
University of Duhok, Duhok, Iraq
142
Self-Development Department, Deanship of Preparatory Year, Imam
Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia
143
Researcher, States of Guernsey
144
Sports Science Unit, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
145
Comisión Honoraria para la Salud Cardiovascular, Montevideo, Uruguay
146
Department of Physical Therapy, Anton de Kom University of Suriname, Tammenga, Suriname
147
Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, The University
of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago
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128
Ramírez Varela et al
148
Centre for Sport and Exercise Sciences, Universiti Malaya, Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia
Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Centre for Public
Health, Medical University Vienna, Vienna, Austria
149
160
Department of Sport Physiology, Marvdasht Branch, Islamic Azad
University, Marvdasht, Iran
150
Head Physical Activity and Obesity Prevention, Centre for Chronic
Disease Control, New Delhi, India
151
Indian Institute of Public Health-Delhi, Public Health Foundation of
India, Gurgaon, India
152
Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
153
National Immunization Technical Advisory Groups, Ministry of Health,
Jakarta, Indonesia
154
Department of Movement and Sports Sciences, Ghent University,
Ghent, Belgium
155
Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), Deakin University,
Geelong, VIC, Australia
156
Institute of Human Movement Science, Sport and Health, University of
Graz, Graz, Austria
157
The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), Port of Spain,
Trinidad and Tobago
158
Department of Food Science and Technology, College of Agriculture,
Animal Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, University of Rwanda, Nyagatare, Rwanda
159
School of Health and Medical Sciences and Centre for Health
Research, University of Southern Queensland, Ipswich, QLD,
Australia
161
Division of Exercise Science and Sports Medicine, Department of
Human Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town,
Cape Town, South Africa
162
National Cancer Institute, Hanoi Medical University, Hanoi,
Vietnam
163
Department of Public Health, University of Health Sciences, Vientiane,
Lao People's Democratic Republic
164
HEPA Macedonia National Organisation for the Promotion of
Health-Enhancing Physical Activity at the WHO HEPA Europe, North
Macedonia
165
Health Promotion Strategist, Pacific Portfolio, Health Promotion Forum
of New Zealand, Auckland, New Zealand
166
Department of Physical Education, Exercise and Sports Science, Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya
167
National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, The
Netherlands
168
Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Clinic, Patras General University
Hospital, Patras, Greece
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