Status and Trends of Physical Activity Surveillance, Policy, and Research in 164 Countries: Findings From the Global Observatory for Physical Activity-GoPA! 2015 and 2020 Surveys.

BACKGROUND: Physical activity (PA) surveillance, policy, and research efforts need to be periodically appraised to gain insight into national and global capacities for PA promotion. The aim of this paper was to assess the status and trends in PA surveillance, policy, and research in 164 countries. METHODS: We used data from the Global Observatory for Physical Activity (GoPA!) 2015 and 2020 surveys. Comprehensive searches were performed for each country to determine the level of development of their PA surveillance, policy, and research, and the findings were verified by the GoPA! Country Contacts. Trends were analyzed based on the data available for both survey years. RESULTS: The global 5-year progress in all 3 indicators was modest, with most countries either improving or staying at the same level. PA surveillance, policy, and research improved or remained at a high level in 48.1%, 40.6%, and 42.1% of the countries, respectively. PA surveillance, policy, and research scores decreased or remained at a low level in 8.3%, 15.8%, and 28.6% of the countries, respectively. The highest capacity for PA promotion was found in Europe, the lowest in Africa and low- and lower-middle-income countries. Although a large percentage of the world's population benefit from at least some PA policy, surveillance, and research efforts in their countries, 49.6 million people are without PA surveillance, 629.4 million people are without PA policy, and 108.7 million live in countries without any PA research output. A total of 6.3 billion people or 88.2% of the world's population live in countries where PA promotion capacity should be significantly improved. CONCLUSION: Despite PA is essential for health, there are large inequalities between countries and world regions in their capacity to promote PA. Coordinated efforts are needed to reduce the inequalities and improve the global capacity for PA promotion.

Where are female editors from low-income and middle-income countries? A comprehensive assessment of gender, geographical distribution and country's income group of editorial boards of top-ranked rehabilitation and sports science journals.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to examine the gender, geographical region and income group of the country of affiliation for editorial leadership (eg, editor-in-chief, section editor, associate editor) and advisors (eg, editorial board members) in top-ranked rehabilitation and sports science journals. METHODS: A list of Scopus indexed, Q1 (25% top) rehabilitation and sports science journals, available under four different journal categories, was prepared based on the data from the Scientific Journal Rankings (SJR) website. The information for editorial leadership and advisors for these journals was obtained and their gender was determined through a multistep process. The country of affiliation of editorial leadership and advisors was used to categorise them to World Bank's different geographical regions and income groups (for countries). RESULTS: There were 7248 editors (35.7% leadership and 64.3% advisors) across 113 rehabilitation and sports science journals. Of all editors, 1792 (24.7%) were women. Women represented 24.5% of editorial leadership positions, 24.8% of advisory roles and 10.4% of editors-in-chief. Editors from South Asia (0.5%) and sub-Saharan Africa (0.6%) had the least representation, while those affiliated with institutions from high-income countries represented 93.5% of leadership roles and 93.1% of advisory positions. Moreover, editors affiliated with institutions from North America occupied almost half of all editorial roles. CONCLUSIONS: Women and researchers affiliated with institutions from low-income and middle-income countries are under-represented on the editorial boards of top-ranked rehabilitation and sports science journals indexed in the Scopus database. Editors are responsible for promoting research in their specific field, and therefore, the current leadership in rehabilitation and sports science journals should consider diversifying their editorial boards by providing equitable opportunities to women and researchers from a broader geographical distribution.

Motivation and factors affecting sports participation: a cross-sectional study on female medical students in Pakistan.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the factors associated with participation of Pakistani female students in organised sports at a university in a rural setting in Pakistan. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted during March and April 2017 at the Peoples University of Medical & Health Sciences for Women, Nawabshah in the Sindh province of Pakistan, and comprised undergraduate female students who got injured during the "Sports Week" organized at the university and visited the on-site physiotherapy camp. Data collection tools included physical activity and leisure motivation scale, sport motivation scale, and athlete fear avoidance questionnaire. SPSS v20 was used for data analysis. RESULTS: Of the 403 students participating in the Sports Week, sports injuries were reported by 127(31.51%) students. Regular physical activity was reported by only 28(22%) participants. Overuse was the most common cause of sports injuries 67(52.8%). Ankle was the main affected site 31(24.4%). The most common injury types were cramps 59(46.5%) and sprains 58(45.7%). Use of improper technique was observed in 61(48%) students. The most common intrinsic motives were 'enjoyment', with a mean value of 21.3±2.71, and 'to know' 21.71±5.2. The most common extrinsic motives were 'physical condition', with a mean value of 21.51±2.81, and 'identified regulation' 21.74±5.6. CONCLUSIONS: Prevalence of sports injuries in female university students was high. The students should be trained about the proper way of sports participation.