Results from Sweden’s 2018 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth
Marie Löf, Christel Larsson, Christina Alexandrou, Bettina Ehrenblad, Ulf Eriksson, Marita Friberg, Maria Hagströmer, Anna Karin Lindroos, Gisela Nyberg, Christine Delisle Nyström
Introduction: The consolidation of physical activity and sedentary behavior data is extremely important, in order for researchers, policy makers, and key stakeholders to identify problem areas and intervene appropriately.
Methods: Sweden’s 2018 report card included the ten core physical activity indicators that are common to the Global Matrix 3.0 as well as an additional indicator, diet. Each of the 11 indicators were assigned a grade from F to A+ representing the percentage of children and youth meeting a defined benchmark. If there was no data or insufficient data for an indicator it was marked as incomplete.
Results: Three of the 11 indicators, i.e., active play, family and peers, and physical fitness were assigned a grade of incomplete due to the lack of available data for these indicators, thus showing that knowledge and research gaps exist.
Indicator |
Grade |
Overall physical activity |
D+ |
Organized sport participation |
B+ |
Active play |
INC |
Active transportation |
C |
Sedentary behaviors |
C+ |
Physical fitness |
INC |
Family and peers |
INC |
School |
C+ |
Community and environment |
A |
Government |
B |
Diet |
C |
Conclusions/recommendations: As the relatively low grades for the 2018 report card have remained virtually unchanged since 2016 for daily behavior indicators, it is vital that key stakeholders begin to plan how to appropriately intervene in order to increase overall physical activity and decrease sedentary time in Swedish children and youth. In Sweden community and environment favor an active lifestyle and the promotion of physical activity. Furthermore, there are strong government initiatives that promote physical activity among children and youth. Despite the conducive environment for physical activity in Sweden, overall physical activity is low and sedentary behavior is high, which indicates a need for a more integrated approach to promote physical activity in Sweden’s children and youth.