They argue that while significant progress has been made in the past two decades, research has mainly focused on individual-level factors (for example age, sex, socioeconomic status) in high-income countries, and important fundamental questions about factors that cause inactivity, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where about 80 percent of the burden of non-communicable diseases lies, remain unanswered.

The review identifies a small number of consistent correlates that appear to influence whether people are regularly active or not. For instance: health status and intention to exercise in adults; being male, young, or wealthy, self-efficacy (confidence in the ability to be physically active in specific situations) and previous history of physical activity at all ages; and family and social support in adolescents.

New evidence also suggests that some people might be genetically predisposed to being physically active while evolutionary factors and obesity might also add to the propensity to be inactive.

‘€œResearch has been heavily concentrated in a few developed countries, most of which have stable or falling rates of non-communicable diseases, rather than in low-income countries where understanding of evidence-based strategies for increasing physical activity is poor,’€ says Adrian Bauman from the University of Sydney (Australia) who led the research.

‘€œFuture research needs to have a stronger focus on causal determinants rather than just repetition of cross-sectional correlates studies, especially in low and middle income countries’€¦ this improved understanding will be vital to reducing the effect of future epidemics of inactivity and contribute to effective global prevention of non-communicable diseases,’€ Bauman concludes.

Source: The Lancet