Dr. Mark Tremblay is lead author on a commentary titled, “Physical Activity Report Cards: Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance and the Lancet Physical Activity Observatory” that was recently published in the Journal of Physical Activity & Health. Citation details and a summary of the commentary are below.
Tremblay MS, Gonzalez SA, PT Katzmarzyk, Onywera VO, Reilly JJ, Tomkinson G for the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance. Physical Activity Report Cards: Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance and the Lancet Physical Activity Observatory. J Phys Act Health. 2015;12:297-98.
ABSTRACT: The importance of physical activity for health is unequivocal, making its monitoring and surveillance important. The harmonization or standardization of measurement and reporting methods is needed to allow for legitimate international comparisons, build research monitoring capacity, and further physical activity surveillance improvements. The development of global recommendations on physical activity for health, internationally validated physical activity questionnaires, and large multicountry surveys are examples of international collaborations to facilitate global monitoring, surveillance, and comparison efforts. The recent development of “report cards” and “country cards” are additional examples of methods for international physical activity comparisons. Though well intended, the concurrent production of these new “cards” has created some confusion among physical activity researchers and leaders around the world. A short letter was published in The Lancet recently in an attempt to differentiate the “cards” and establish a coordination mechanism between the two initiatives. This brief commentary attempts to expand on this effort.
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