Examining the associations of physical activity prevalence with gross domestic product and Fragile state index: A 51-country study

To describe the prevalence of physical activity and assess its correlation with a unidimensional economic measure (per capita gross domestic product - GDP) and a multidimensional measure of countries' fragility (Fragile States Index). Physical activity was measured using data from STEPwise Approach to Noncommunicable Disease Risk-Factor Surveillance calculated at individual level. We obtained the following indicators: total physical activity, any leisure-time, any transport and any work physical activity. GDP and FSI were obtained from the World Bank and the Fund for Peace respectively. An analysis was carried out to verify the relationship between physical activity and GDP/FSI. We included data from 51 countries. The prevalence of meeting physical activity recommendations was 82.6%, while for any leisure-time, any transportation and any work, the proportions were 23.6%, 73.0% and 60.5%, respectively. For any leisure-time physical activity, the lower the prevalence of the outcome the higher the fragility of countries (r = -0.55). In contrast, for any work physical activity, the pattern was inverse (r = 0.35). Our results underscore the relevance of contextual correlates of domain-specific physical activity and emphasise the need to reconsider the meaning of physical activity in each location, accounting for its different domains in promotion efforts.