How can we advance systems approaches for physical activity in Australia?

Key messages

• Insufficient physical activity in the Australian population has been a longstanding issue, with little evidence of improvement over the past 25 years.
• Effective national action requires a systems-based approach which engages multiple sectors and addresses systems-level determinants of physical inactivity. These include governance, legislation and regulation, and an improved national surveillance of the physical activity system.
• Together with policy makers and stakeholders the project mapped the existing physical activity landscape to understand how different sector’s policies and programs contribute to population physical activity, and how states and territories measure adult physical activity.
• We developed practical resources, including a conceptual systems map for physical activity, and a world-first comprehensive guide on systems approaches for physical activity, Getting Australia Active 3: A systems approach to physical activity for policy makers.
• The project also progressed understanding about the role of laws and regulation for physical activity and on laws that affect the built environment for walking and cycling in Australia.
• We identified an urgent need for policy, practice and research to move beyond describing the system, to implementing and evaluating systems interventions.
• This project sets a strong foundation for further policy-relevant practice and research to support systems approaches for physical activity in Australia.