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Progress in physical activity over the Olympic quadrennium
Sallis JF, Bull F, Guthold R, Heath GW, Inoue S, Kelly P, Oyeyemi AL, Perez LG et al.. Lancet (London, England), 2016-07-28
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
On the eve of the 2012 summer Olympic Games, the first Lancet Series on physical activity established that physical inactivity was a global pandemic, and global public health action was urgently needed. The present paper summarises progress on the topics covered in the first Series. In the past 4 years, more countries have been monitoring the prevalence of physical inactivity, although evidence of any improvements in prevalence is still scarce. According to emerging evidence on brain health, physical inactivity accounts for about 3·8% of cases of dementia worldwide. An increase in research on the correlates of physical activity in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) is providing a better evidence base for development of context-relevant interventions. A finding specific to LMICs was that physical inactivity was higher in urban (vs rural) residents, which is a cause for concern because of the global trends toward urbanisation. A small but increasing number of intervention studies from LMICs provide initial evidence that community-based interventions can be effective. Although about 80% of countries reported having national physical activity policies or plans, such policies were operational in only about 56% of countries. There are important barriers to policy implementation that must be overcome before progress in increasing physical activity can be expected. Despite signs of progress, efforts to improve physical activity surveillance, research, capacity for intervention, and policy implementation are needed, especially among LMICs.
Key findings
- A finding specific to LMICs was that physical inactivity was higher in urban (vs rural) residents, which is a cause for concern because of the global trends toward urbanisation.
- A small but increasing number of intervention studies from LMICs provide initial evidence that community-based interventions can be effective.
- Although about 80% of countries reported having national physical activity policies or plans, such policies were operational in only about 56% of countries.
- There are important barriers to policy implementation that must be overcome before progress in increasing physical activity can be expected.
- Despite signs of progress, efforts to improve physical activity surveillance, research, capacity for intervention, and policy implementation are needed, especially among LMICs.
Why it matters
This review states that physical inactivity accounts for about 3.8% of dementia cases worldwide and that community-based activity interventions show initial promise in some countries. It reports no trial proving that increasing physical activity prevents Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 57/100
Published in a top-tier journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 10 / 10 | Tier 1 — top-tier general journal (Lancet (London, England)) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | The Lancet: journal h-index 1,205 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2016 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 938 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 5 / 5 | 78.2 citations a year over 12 year(s) since 2016 |
| Impact for its field and year | 6 / 6 | Cited 74.4× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 1 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 161 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Pedro Curi Hallal: h-index 85 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University of California San Diego: institution h-index 1,852 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 11 institution(s) in 8 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 27475270) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 57 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
May need a subscription OpenAlex found no free copy of the full text (checked 6 Feb 1020), so the publisher may charge for it. The PubMed abstract is free.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Sallis, J. F., Bull, F., Guthold, R., Heath, G. W., Inoue, S., Kelly, P., et al. (2016). Progress in physical activity over the Olympic quadrennium. Lancet (London, England). https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(16)30581-5
Vancouver
Sallis JF, Bull F, Guthold R, Heath GW, Inoue S, Kelly P, et al. Progress in physical activity over the Olympic quadrennium. Lancet (London, England). 2016. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(16)30581-5. PMID: 27475270.
BibTeX
@article{sallis2016-27475270,
author = {Sallis, J. F. and Bull, F. and Guthold, R. and Heath, G. W. and Inoue, S. and Kelly, P. and Oyeyemi, A. L. and Perez, L. G. and others},
title = {{Progress in physical activity over the Olympic quadrennium}},
journal = {Lancet (London, England)},
year = {2016},
doi = {10.1016/s0140-6736(16)30581-5},
pmid = {27475270},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(16)30581-5}
}
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