Purpose: Despite the well-established health benefits of physical activity (PA) most young people (aged 4‒19 years) do not meet PA guidelines. Additionally, the impact of policies that support PA and associated behaviours is lacking. The aim of this systematic review is to ascertain the level and type of evidence reported in the international scientific literature for policies within the school-setting that contribute to increasing PA. 

Methods: Six databases were searched using key concepts of policy, school, evaluation, and PA. Following title and abstract screening of 2,323 studies, 25 progressed to data synthesis. Methodological quality was assessed using standardised tools, and the strength of the evidence of policy impact was described based on pre-determined codes: positive, negative, inconclusive or untested statistically.

Results: Nine policy action areas for which there was evidence of impact were identified. These were whole-school PA policy, physical education, sport/extracurricular PA, classroom-based PA, active breaks, physical environment, shared use agreements, active school transport and surveillance. The bulk of the evidence (54%) was significantly positive, 27% was inconclusive, 9% was significantly negative, and 11% was untested. Frequency of evidence was highest in the primary school-setting (41%), while sport/extracurricular PA (35%) was the most common policy area. Results comparing relative strength (positive) of evidence are as follows; shared use agreements = 100%; whole-school PA policy = 60%; sport/extracurricular PA = 59%; physical education = 57%; and PA in classroom/active breaks = 50%.

Conclusions: Although the evidence presented supports the effectiveness of PA policy actions within the school-setting, they also caution against a “one-size fits all” approach and highlight the need for further evaluation of policy implementation to maximize translation into practice. Additionally, greater clarity regarding terminology, measurement, and methods for evaluation of policy interventions is needed, with suggestions provided.

Purpose: Research consistently shows that active transport (i.e., walking, cycling or use of public transport) is associated with higher total daily physical activity (PA) than passive transport (e.g. driving a car). Public policies that support PA in transport facilitate active transport, and thereby overall PA levels, but the specific impact of such policies on PA behavior is still not well understood. The aim of this systematic review is to determine the level and type of evidence for policies in the area of transport that contribute to increasing PA.

Methods: Six databases were searched using key concepts of policy, transport, evaluation and PA. Methodological quality was assessed using standardized tools, and the strength of the evidence of policy impact was described based on pre-determined categories of positive, negative, inconclusive or untested. 

Results: 32 of 2,549 studies were included in the data extraction, 15 of them were review papers and the other 17 were analyzed in the data synthesis. We identified 3 main transport policy areas with 60 individual policy actions that had a direct or indirect effect on PA. The policy areas were: convenient transport infrastructure, active travel promotion and shift of transport mode. They follow the methodological approach toward transport system (infrastructure, human behavior and transport modes). More than half of the policy actions identified (63%) had a positive effect on physical activity.  Study quality ratings were moderate to good.

Conclusions: Physical activity levels can be increased by implementing policies which provide convenient, safe, and connected walking and cycling infrastructures as well as promote active traveling and strongly support public transport. There is clear evidence that policies to promote active travel work best when implemented in a comprehensive way (very often as a combination of several policies). This may include infrastructure and facility improvements as well as educational programs to achieve substantial shifts towards active modes.

Purpose: Promoting sport and recreation for all has been listed as an investment for supporting physical activity behaviour and for the realisation of individual rights. Yet patterns of sport participation indicate that some groups have greater opportunity to participate in sport than others. The aim of the study was to identify the best examples of policy actions which promote participation in sport with the specific research question of which policy actions impact sport for all outcomes?

Methods: Six electronic databases, MEDLINE (Ebsco), SportDiscus, Cinahl Complete, Cochrane Library, Web of Science and Scopus, were searched for scientific literature on sport policy in late August 2020. Two rounds of screening, title and abstract and full text review, were undertaken by researchers working independently of each other. Disagreements were resolved by consultation with a researcher acting as an independent third party. Included studies were limited to studies which evaluate policy actions based on their impact on sport 

Results: Database search initially identified 6441 items of which 3745 were unique. Screening reduced this number to 30 studies which were included in the review. Some evidence supporting the policy actions “build sport infrastructure”, and “provide free access to targeted groups” was identified. A majority of the identified studies were from the United Kingdom and no studies using a randomised design were identified.

Conclusions: Some evidence for successfully implemented and effective policy actions were identified. However, policy actions may have limited impact in facilitating long term commitments behaviour change in inactive groups, to facilitate participation in the most inactive groups, broader inter-sectoral actions may be required outside of the limited domain of sport policy to increase sport opportunity. The evidence collected may be useful for coalitions of academics and public health stakeholders to advocate for policies which promote public health by creating a supportive environment for physical activity.