RESUMO
Background: Physical inactivity is a persistent and worsening population health concern in Asia. Led by the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance, Global Matrix (GM) initiative provides an opportunity to explore how regional and cultural differences across 18 Asian countries relate to physical activity (PA) participation among children and adolescents. Objectives: To synthesize evidence from the GM2.0 to GM4.0 (2016-2022) in Asian countries. Methods: Report Card grades on behavioral/individual and sources of influence indicators were reported from 18 Asian countries. Letter grades were converted into numerical values for quantitative analyses. Based on this, cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses were conducted to investigate patterns and trends. Qualitative evidence synthesis was performed based on Report Card grades and published papers to identify gaps and suggest future recommendations. Results: In total, 18 countries provided grades for at least one round of GM, 12 countries provided grades for at least two rounds, and seven countries provided grades for all three GMs. Of possible grades, 72.8%, 69.2%, and 76.9% of the grades were assigned from GM 2.0 to GM 4.0, respectively. In terms of the Report Card grades, there was a slight decrease in behavioral/individual indicators from "D+" in GM 2.0 to "D-" in GM 3.0 but this reverted to "D" in GM 4.0. For the sources of influence, a "C" grade was given in all three rounds of GM. Longitudinal observation of seven Asian countries that provided grades in all three rounds of GM revealed that grades are generally stable for all indicators with some country-specific fluctuations. In future GM initiatives and research, considerations should be made to provide more accurate and rich data and to better understand contextual challenges in evaluating certain indicators such as Active Transportation, Active Play, and Physical Fitness in particular. Further, macro level factors such as socioeconomic/cultural disparities and gender-specific barriers, ideology, or climate change should also be proactively considered in future research as these factors are becoming increasingly relevant to indicators of GM and United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals. Conclusions: Participation from Asian countries in GM has increased over the years, which demonstrates the region's enthusiasm, capacity, and support for global PA promotion efforts. The efforts to promote a physically active lifestyle among children and adolescents should be a collective interest and priority of the Asia region based on the gaps identified in this paper.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: The Global Matrix 4.0 on physical activity (PA) for children and adolescents was developed to achieve a comprehensive understanding of the global variation in children's and adolescents' (5-17 y) PA, related measures, and key sources of influence. The objectives of this article were (1) to summarize the findings from the Global Matrix 4.0 Report Cards, (2) to compare indicators across countries, and (3) to explore trends related to the Human Development Index and geo-cultural regions. METHODS: A total of 57 Report Card teams followed a harmonized process to grade the 10 common PA indicators. An online survey was conducted to collect Report Card Leaders' top 3 priorities for each PA indicator and their opinions on how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted child and adolescent PA indicators in their country. RESULTS: Overall Physical Activity was the indicator with the lowest global average grade (D), while School and Community and Environment were the indicators with the highest global average grade (C+). An overview of the global situation in terms of surveillance and prevalence is provided for all 10 common PA indicators, followed by priorities and examples to support the development of strategies and policies internationally. CONCLUSIONS: The Global Matrix 4.0 represents the largest compilation of children's and adolescents' PA indicators to date. While variation in data sources informing the grades across countries was observed, this initiative highlighted low PA levels in children and adolescents globally. Measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, local/international conflicts, climate change, and economic change threaten to worsen this situation.