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Other Educational Blogs:

https://pess.blog/

https://peplanning.org.uk/making-pe-fun-accessible-enjoyment-for-all/

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Guest speakers are critical to the MSc Applied Sports Coaching, providing insights into their practice and stimulating the coaches on the programme to reflect on their context. Specific activities before and after the guest sessions [...]

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Additional Readings on the Impact of Physical Education Within Schools:

Below I have attached two interesting readings I found. You can also read them by copying the link into the search bar!

https://www.studentsport.ie/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/SASSI-Summary-Report-2016.pdf

https://news.ku.edu/news/article/2023/08/29/study-shows-physical-education-teachers-influence-students-activity-later-life-purpose

https://www.youthsporttrust.org/media/z10jdd2d/25710-activity-alliance-dissemination-resource_accessible.pdf

The (mis)alignment between young people’s collective physical activity experience and physical education curriculum development in Ireland.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/25742981.2020.1808493

Should PE be a core subject?

https://www.pescholar.com/insight/should-physical-education-be-a-core-subject/

Physical Education Theory and Methadology

https://www.tmfv.com.ua/journal/article/view/2282

Exploring Physical Literacy in Physical Education: Essential Insights for PE Teachers

https://www.capnpetespowerpe.com/single-post/the-importance-of-physical-literacy-in-physical-education-a-deep-dive#google_vignette

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KU study finds teachers shape how students will view physical activity beyond school

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Initivates

Some really good initatives which aim to increase P.A. levels:

Get Ireland Active - https://assets.gov.ie/24930/e079cd26727e4d8283cde036c60683da.pdf

Healthy Ireland

https://www.gov.ie/en/campaigns/healthy-ireland/?referrer=https://www.health.gov.ie/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/HealthyIrelandBrochureWA2.pdf

Every Move Counts – National Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines for Ireland https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/44751-every-move-counts-national-physical-activity-and-sedentary-behaviour-guidelines-for-ireland/

Active Healthy Kids

https://www.activehealthykids.org/

Get Ireland Walking

https://www.getirelandwalking.ie/

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National Bodies which aim to Promote Physical Activity:

CSSPA: https://www.sportireland.ie/sites/default/files/media/document/2023-08/CSPPA%202022%20Full%20Report.pdf

WHO:

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/physical-activity

Active Schools Flag:

https://activeschoolflag.ie/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GuidelinesPhysicalActivity.pdf

University of Limerick researchers:

https://www.ul.ie/news/university-of-limerick-researchers-develop-new-physical-activity-guidelines

National Sports Policy 2018-2027

https://assets.gov.ie/15979/04e0f52cee5f47ee9c01003cf559e98d.pdf

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Key facts

Regular physical activity provides significant physical and mental health benefits.

In adults, physical activity contributes to prevention and management of noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer and diabetes and reduces symptoms of depression and anxiety, enhances brain health, and can improve overall well-being.

In children and adolescents, physical activity promotes bone health, encourages healthy growth and development of muscle, and improves motor and cognitive development.

31% of adults and 80% of adolescents do not meet the recommended levels of physical activity.

The global target set to reduce levels of physical inactivity in adults and adolescents is a 10% relative reduction by 2025 and 15% by 2030, from the 2010 baseline.

The global estimate of the cost of physical inactivity to public health care systems between 2020 and 2030 is about US$ 300 billion (approximately US$ 27 billion per year) if levels of physical inactivity are not reduced.

Overview

WHO defines physical activity as any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that requires energy expenditure. Physical activity refers to all movement including during leisure time, for transport to get to and from places, or as part of a person's work or domestic activities. Both moderate- and vigorous-intensity physical activity improve health. Popular ways to be active include walking, cycling, wheeling, sports, active recreation and play, and can be done at any level of skill and for enjoyment by everybody.

Physical activity is beneficial to health and well-being and conversely, physical inactivity increases risk for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and other poor health outcomes. Together, physical inactivity and sedentary behaviours are contributing to the rise in NCDs and placing a burden on healthcare systems.

Improving levels of physical activity will benefit health and well-being and contribute to attainment of global NCD targets and a number of the Sustainable Development Goals. However, this will require increased commitments and investments by Member States; innovation and contributions from non-state actors; cross sector coordination and collaboration; and ongoing guidance and monitoring from WHO.

Benefits of physical activity and risks of sedentary behaviour and inactivity

Physical inactivity is one of the leading risk factors for noncommunicable diseases mortality. People who are insufficiently active have a 20% to 30% increased risk of death compared to people who are sufficiently active. Regular physical activity is associated with:

in children and adolescents, improvedphysical fitness, cardiometabolic health, bone health, cognitive outcomes, mental health and reduced body fat;

in adults and older adults, reducedrisk of all-cause mortality, risk of cardiovascular disease mortality, incident hypertension, incident site-specific cancers, incident type-2 diabetes, and falls and improved mental health, cognitive health, sleep and measures of body fat; and

for pregnant and post-partum women, decreased risk of pre-eclampsia, gestational hypertension, gestational diabetes, excessive gestational weight gain, delivery complications, postpartum depression and newborn complications. Physical activity has no adverse effects on birthweight or increased risk of stillbirth.

Sedentary behaviour is any period of low-energy expenditure while awake such as sitting, reclining or lying. Lives are becoming increasingly sedentary through the use of motorized transport and the increased use of screens for work, education and recreation. Evidence shows higher amounts of sedentary behaviour are associated with the following poor health outcomes:

in children and adolescents, increased adiposity, poorer cardiometabolic health, fitness, and behavioural conduct/pro-social behaviour, and reduced sleep duration; and

in adults, increasedall-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease mortality and cancer mortality and incidence of cardiovascular disease, cancer and type-2 diabetes.

How much physical activity is recommended?

The WHO Global guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour provide recommendations for children (age 5 and up), adolescents, adults, older adults, pregnant and post-partum women, and people living with chronic conditions and disabilities. The recommendations detail the amount of physical activity (frequency, intensity and duration) required to offer significant health benefits and to reduce health risks. The guidelines highlight that any amount of physical activity is better than none; all physical activity counts; all age groups should limit the amount of time being sedentary; and muscle strengthening benefits everyone.

The WHO Guidelines on physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep for children under 5 years of age provide recommendations on the amount of time in a 24-hour day that young children, under 5 years of age, should spend being physically active or sleeping for their health and well-being, and the maximum recommended time these children should spend on screen-based sedentary activities or time restrained.

An infographic summarizes the current WHO guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour for all age groups. WHO develops guidelines through an arduous process of reviewing scientific evidence and expert consultations. Preparations are already underway for the next guidelines, anticipated for publication in 2030.

Levels of physical inactivity globally

WHO regularly monitors trends in physical inactivity. A recent study (1) found that nearly one third (31%) of the world's adult population, 1.8 billion adults, are physically inactive. That is, they do not meet the global recommendations of at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week. This is an increase of 5 percentage points between 2010 and 2022. If this trend continues, the proportion of adults not meeting recommended levels of physical activity is projected to rise to 35% by 2030.

Globally, there are notable age and gender differences in levels of physical inactivity.

Women are less active than men by an average of 5 percentage points. This has not changed since 2000.

After 60 years of age physical inactivity levels increase in both men and women.

81% of adolescents (aged 11-17 years) were physically inactive (2).

Adolescent girls were less active than adolescent boys, with 85% vs. 78%, not meeting WHO guidelines.

Many different factors can determine how active people are and the overall levels of physical activity in different population groups. These factors can be related to the individual or wider social, cultural, environmental and economic determinants that influence access and opportunities to be active in safe and enjoyable ways.

How Member States can increase levels of physical activity

The WHO Global action plan on physical activity provides policy recommendations for countries and communities to promote physical activity and ensure everyone has more opportunities to be regularly active. Examples of these recommendations include policies that ensure access to walking, cycling and non-motorized transport; that increase physical activity opportunities in schools, workplaces, childcare centres and in healthcare service delivery; and that increase accessibility and availability of community sports and public open spaces.

Implementing effective policies to increase levels of physical activity requires a collective effort, coordinated across multiple government departments at all levels, including health, transport, education, employment, sport and recreation, and urban planning. It also demands national and local engagement from nongovernmental organizations, various sectors, stakeholders and disciplines to support the implementation of policies and solutions that are appropriate to a country's cultural and social environment. Priority should be given to policy actions that address disparities in levels of physical activity, promoting, enabling and encouraging physical activity for all.

WHO response

WHOsupports countries and stakeholders to implement the recommended actions by:

1. developing global policy guidance and guidelines, underpinned by latest evidence and consensus;

2. supporting countries to develop appropriate policies that promote physical activity and multisectoral collaborations;

3. conducting advocacy to raise awareness of the multiple benefits of increasing physical activity and support the development of economic analysis of the impact of increasing physical activity and return on investment of different policy interventions;

4. developing technical tools and training packages to help countries build capacity in the implementation of policy and programmes across key settings and innovations using digital platforms including through WHO Academy courses, multi-country workshops and other knowledge exchange activities;

5. convening, coordinating, and collaborating to strengthen partnerships across sectors and between policy makers, practitioners and researcher communities; and

6. undertaking global monitoring and reporting of progress on implementation of the Global action plan on physical activity, global levels of physical inactivity and progress towards a 15% relative reduction in the prevalence of physical inactivity by 2030.

WHOsupports countries and stakeholders to implement the recommended actions by developing global policy guidance and guidelines, underpinned by latest evidence and consensus, to help countries develop appropriate policies, investment cases and financing mechanisms.
References

1. Strain, T., Flaxman, S., et al. National, regional, and global trends in insufficient physical activity among adults from 2000 to 2022: a pooled analysis of 507 population-based surveys with 5·7 million participants. The Lancet Global Health (2024).

2. Guthold, R., Stevens, G., et al. Global trends in insufficient physical activity among adolescents: a pooled analysis of 298 population-based surveys with 1.6 million participants. The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health Vol. 4 Iss. 1 (2019).

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WHO fact sheet on physical activity provides key facts and information on benefits, risks of inactivity, reasons for physical inactivity and how to increase physical activity, WHO response.

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There are a number of Local Sports Partnerships (LSP) within communities which aim to increase and promote activity levels amongst the community. Often these associations cater for a wide range of abailtiies and ages. Attached is an LSP location finder which will provide further details to acrtivities within your area. https://www.sportireland.ie/participation/lsp-contact-finder

https://simplebooklet.com/lspannualreport2023#page=1

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Beating the barriers: Resources

I'm sure many individuals think they are prevented from P.A. due to the resources in their locality or the financial cost. However, let me change your mind. Regardless of your enviroment, here are some ways you can increase your activity levels and reduce a sedentary lifestyle:

Utilise outdoor space for a walk/ jog

Bodyweight exercises at home such as squats, plank etc - no equipment needed.

Online youtibe videos such as dance and yoga.

Active communiting - walking to work/ school

Outdoor play

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Types of P.A.

High intensity:

Sprinting

Boxing

Moderate Intensity:

Swimming

Football

Low Intensity:

Yoga

Bowling

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Tips for Youths to Stay Active:

There are many forms of exercise. When identfying your favourite remember to:

Find an activity you enjoy

Have fun

Set small acheicveable goals

Create a routine

Challenge yourself

Try a range of activities

Celebrate success and progress