World Health Organization 2020 guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour

Abstract

Objectives To describe new WHO 2020 guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour. Methods The guidelines were developed in accordance with WHO protocols. An expert Guideline Development Group reviewed evidence to assess associations between physical activity and sedentary behaviour for an agreed set of health outcomes and population groups. The assessment used and systematically updated recent relevant systematic reviews; new primary reviews addressed additional health outcomes or subpopulations. Results The new guidelines address children, adolescents, adults, older adults and include new specific recommendations for pregnant and postpartum women and people living with chronic conditions or disability. All adults should undertake 150–300 min of moderate-intensity, or 75–150 min of vigorous-intensity physical activity, or some equivalent combination of moderate-intensity and vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity, per week. Among children and adolescents, an average of 60 min/day of moderate-to-vigorous intensity aerobic physical activity across the week provides health benefits. The guidelines recommend regular muscle-strengthening activity for all age groups. Additionally, reducing sedentary behaviours is recommended across all age groups and abilities, although evidence was insufficient to quantify a sedentary behaviour threshold. Conclusion These 2020 WHO guidelines update previous WHO recommendations released in 2010. They reaffirm messages that some physical activity is better than none, that more physical activity is better for optimal health outcomes and provide a new recommendation on reducing sedentary behaviours. These guidelines highlight the importance of regularly undertaking both aerobic and muscle strengthening activities and for the first time, there are specific recommendations for specific populations including for pregnant and postpartum women and people living with chronic conditions or disability. These guidelines should be used to inform national health policies aligned with the WHO Global Action Plan on Physical Activity 2018–2030 and to strengthen surveillance systems that track progress towards national and global targets.

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Affiliated Institutions

• Institute for Musculoskeletal Health AU
• George Washington University US
• University Hospital Kerry IE
• Glasgow Caledonian University GB
• University of Manchester GB
• Alberta Health Services CA
• University of Cambridge GB
• University of Regensburg DE
• Munster Technological University IE
• Ministry of Health KE
• National Cancer Institute US
• Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario CA
• Milken Institute US
• University of Bristol GB
• Ghent University BE
• University of Southern Queensland AU
• National Department of Health PG
• Pennington Biomedical Research Center US
• Arizona State University US
• University of Leicester GB
• Leicester General Hospital GB
• University of East Anglia GB
• Age Institute FI
• University of Cape Town ZA
• Norwegian School of Sport Sciences
• Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare FI
• MRC Epidemiology Unit GB
• Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute AU
• Western Sydney University AU
• Queen's University Belfast GB
• Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam NL
• Norwegian Institute of Public Health
• The University of Sydney AU
• University of Ottawa CA
• Oregon Health & Science University US
• University of Colombo LK
• World Health Organization CH
• Universidad de Granada ES

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