Key result
The 2020 WHO physical activity guidelines classified an average of 26.2% more children and adolescents as meeting the recommendations compared to the old guidelines.
Why the study?
The 2020 WHO guidelines revised the physical activity threshold for children and adolescents from 60 minutes daily to an average of 60 minutes per day (420 min/week), prompting evaluation of how this change impacts adherence estimates and single-item surveillance measures.
Does the application of the 2020 WHO physical activity guidelines increase the proportion of children and adolescents meeting the recommendations compared to the old guidelines?
Observational
Yes
Does the application of the 2020 WHO physical activity guidelines increase the proportion of children and adolescents meeting the recommendations compared to the old guidelines?
Effect estimate: average absolute increase of 26.2%
The updated 2020 WHO physical activity guidelines significantly increase the proportion of children and adolescents classified as sufficiently active, with 4-5 days/week of 60 minutes of activity serving as the best single-item surveillance threshold.
New averaging guideline classifies more youth as active (35–84% vs 28–55%); extends surveillance data for updated WHO recommendations.
Objectives: Around 80% of children/adolescents globally do not meet recommended levels of physical activity (PA). The 2020 WHO consensus updated PA guidelines, changing from '60 minutes of PA/day' to at least 'an average of 60 min/day'. This means that attaining 420 min/week expresses the minimum threshold for PA.This analysis examined the effects of the changed guidelines on children/adolescents meeting PA guidelines. A coprimary research question examines single-item PA questions to determine the number of days of 60 min of activity that best reflect meeting the new PA guideline. Methods: Data were from five population-level Australian and New Zealand surveys (two representative population surveillance datasets and three large community interventions). PA questions included the single item question (days/week of 60 min) and detailed PA measures including International Physical Activity Questionnaire-adolescent questions. The single-item analysis used receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves to identify the best fit between the single-item and more extensive PA measures (maximising sensitivity and specificity). Results: The proportion meeting the old PA guidelines ranged from 28-55%, compared with 35-84% meeting the new guideline (average absolute increase of 26.2%). ROC analysis described areas under the ROC curve between 0.728 and 0.907. The best fit (Youden's Index >0.5) was 4-5 days/week where the single item best classified children and adolescents meeting the new guideline. Conclusions: The new guideline classified 26% more children and adolescents meeting updated PA guidelines. National research reports should use updated PA guideline criteria, and for surveillance, 4-5 reported days/week on the single PA question best estimates meeting the PA guideline threshold.
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Bauman et al. (2026) conducted an observational in Physical activity. 2020 WHO physical activity guidelines vs. Old physical activity guidelines was evaluated on Proportion meeting physical activity guidelines (average absolute increase of 26.2%). The 2020 WHO physical activity guidelines classified an average of 26.2% more children and adolescents as meeting the recommendations compared to the old guidelines.
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