Sport and Physical Activity: State of the Nation

International Comparisons

Scotland is broadly comparable to many other European nations in terms of physical activity levels and trends, for both adults and children. There are considerable differences in the way countries operationalise the physical activity recommendations and the measurement methods used in their national surveys, but when efforts are made to harmonise these differences, similar patterns are evident across countries^{[17] [18]}.

Children and young people

In children and adolescents, the majority of European countries collect MVPA data that can only be used to assess compliance with the recommendation prior to 2019 (a minimum of 60 minutes of MVPA every day). This is collected via the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children study (HBSC) or the Global School-based Student Health Survey. Research has shown that compliance with the current recommendation (an average minimum of 60 minutes of MVPA across the week) could be at least 30 percentage points higher than the former recommendation^[19].

Despite the difference in absolute levels, both SHeS and Scotland’s HBSC data show fluctuating but overall stable trends over time and decreasing activity levels across the teenage years^[20]. Scotland’s fluctuating but stable trend was in keeping with most other countries^[21], and broadly in line with the global estimates that suggested a small improvement in school-going boys’ activity levels between 2001 and 2016 but no change for girls^[22].

The proportion of children and young people who meet the MVPA guidelines means Scotland ranks in the top half of the countries participating in the 2021-2022 HBSC (mostly European countries), and consistently higher than England and Wales^[23]. However, Scotland ranked 7^th out of 43 countries for 11-year olds, 12^th for 13-year olds, and 18^th for 15-year olds. This may suggest the decline in those meeting MVPA guidelines during adolescence is steeper in Scotland than for other countries.

Although the vast majority of countries have considerable differences between high and low affluence groups, particularly amongst boys, data show that, in comparison, these differences in Scotland are above average.^[24]

There are limited comparable data on children’s and adolescents’ sedentary time. In addition, questions on screen time are not consistent over time due to changes required to keep pace with new technologies. The HBSC surveys do not routinely include questions on sedentary or screen time. An analysis of TV viewing amongst European adolescents showed that Scotland was close to the average in terms of the proportions reporting over two hours a day on weekdays and weekend days^[25].

Adults

Many European countries report compliance with adult MVPA recommendations taking into account only leisure and transport activity. Some also combine the MVPA and muscle-strengthening recommendations, including only non-aerobic strengthening activities such as lifting weights or exercises against body weight. This limits comparability with Scotland which takes a different approach to assessment.

International comparisons for adults are done at the UK level, and the latest global estimates show levels and trends in the UK are comparable to many other western European nations^[26]. The UK is slightly above the global average. It is similar to Ireland, above the USA, but lower than in countries such as Denmark, Sweden and Germany.

The improving overall trend in MVPA observed for the UK is in line with a number of other high-income western countries. It contrasts with the global declining trend which is largely being driven by worsening trends in a number of populous countries in the Asia-Pacific and South Asia regions. The particular increases observed in the older adult age groups have been observed elsewhere, for example, the USA^[27], England^[28], and Sweden^[29].

There are no comparable data for muscle-strengthening. Although measures of muscle-strengthening activity are included in numerous national surveys, the activities that are considered to contribute differ from each other which means comparisons are not possible.

Many countries collect data on self-reported sitting time. Data from the Eurobarometer survey cover the whole of the UK and suggest levels comparable to other European countries^[30].