Effects of a national mass-media campaign on physical activity participation

Regular physical activity has an important role in disease prevention and the promotion of positive health. Population-wide campaigns to promote physical activity are a potentially important health promotion strategy to increase participation, but little is known about their effects. A mass-media campaign, supported by a range of community events, was conducted by the National Heart Foundation (NHF) of Australia in 1990 It comprised television advertising, professional education activities and interviews, promotional materials and community events, and was designed to increase knowledge of the preventive role of physical activity and to encourage the sedentary to start walking. Representative national population surveys were conducted two weeks before and four weeks after the campaign in order to determine the impact of the campaign on the prevalence of physical activity, with particular emphasis on the prevalence of inactivity and walking. Approximately 75% of participants in the post-campaign survey could recall the campaign message. There were no changes in knowledge about the benefits of physical activity, aspre campaign levels were very high. There zs an increase in the proportion of people aged over 50 who reported walking following the campaign, and an increase in the number of times per two-week period that walking was reported. Significant effects upon walking were also noted in the least educated group. The campaign was equally effective for both men and women. Such an outcome is encouraging, given concerns about social inequalities in the distribution of health risk factors.