Increasing recreational and leisure time physical activity in Poland–how to overcome barriers of inactivity

Increasing recreational and leisure time physical activity in Poland–how to overcome barriers of inactivity

International experts have alerted us about the burden of a sedentary lifestyle. In recent WHO reports, lack of physical activity was placed as one of the leading risk factors of chronic diseases affecting both developed and developing countries. Despite some beneficial changes in lifestyle during the last decade, the level of physical activity in Poland still differs from many other European countries and international recommendations as well.

The analysis was based on a review of the Medline database, the main Polish governmental documents and studies concerning physical activity levels and the most interesting recent programmes on the topic.

In the article the physical activity level of the Polish population and the main factors influencing it are discussed. The results of the national WOBASZ Project (2003–2005) revealed that nearly 35% of Polish adults are not active during their leisure time, while only about 17% are only occasionally engaged in any exercise. Over 42% of children up to 14 years old spend above 3 h per day in front of a TV or computer monitor. Over 50% of Polish teenagers aged 15–19 years do not participate in any kind of recreational physical activity. The most successful or promising programmes promoting active lifestyles recently applied in Poland are described in the article. The Great Polish Nationwide Physical Activity Campaign “Revitalize Your Heart” as an innovative and effective complex method is discussed by the authors.

Promising results from several new innovative large-scale physical activity-promoting programmes developed and implemented in Poland in last 5 years let us hope that the battle against a sedentary lifestyle and its health consequences could result in further progressive improvement of the physical activity level of the whole society.