Physical inactivity as a policy problem: applying a concept from policy analysis to a public health issue
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Physical inactivity as a policy problem: applying a concept from policy analysis to a public health issue Alfred Rütten*, Karim Abu-Omar, Peter Gelius and Diana Schow
Abstract Despite the recent rapid development of policies to counteract physical inactivity (PI), only a small number of systematic analyses on the evolution of these policies exists. In this article we analyze how PI, as a public health issue, “translates” into a policy-making issue. First, we discuss why PI has become an increasingly important public health issue during the last two decades. We then follow Guy Peters and conceptualize PI as a “policy problem” that has the potential to be linked to policy instruments and policy impact. Analysis indicates that PI is a policy problem that i) is chronic in nature; ii) involves a high degree of political complexity; iii) can be disaggregated into smaller scales; iv) is addressed through interventions that can be difficult to “sell” to the public when their benefits are not highly divisible; v) cannot be solved by government spending alone; vi) must be addressed through a broad scope of activities; and vii) involves interdependencies among both multiple sectors and levels of government. We conclude that the new perspective on PI proposed in this article might be useful and important for i) describing and mapping policies to counteract PI in different contexts; ii) evaluating whether or not existing policy instruments are appropriate to the policy problem of PI, and iii) explaining the factors and processes that underlie policy development and implementation. More research is warranted in all these areas. In particular, we propose to focus on comparative analyses of how the problem of PI is defined and tackled in different contexts, and on the identification of truly effective policy instruments that are designed to “solve” the PI policy problem. Keywords: Context analysis, Health promotion, Physical activity, Policy problem, Policy process, Public health
Introduction Public health scientists are increasingly adopting physical activity as a research topic. This trend is borne out in the literature. A Medline search reveals an almost fourfold increase over the past two decades in the number of articles containing the phrase “physical activity,” from 2,286 articles published between 1991 and 2000 to 8,863 articles published between 2001 and 2010. Underlying the increased importance of physical activity as a concept are high levels of sedentary behaviors in many countries [1,2] and mounting evidence on the connection between physical inactivity (PI) and other public health issues like the obesity epidemic and increasing rates of non-communicable diseases, such as type 2 diabetes [3-5]. * Correspondence: [email protected] Institute of Sport Science and Sport, University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Gebbertstr. 123b, D-91058 Erlangen, Germany
National and international public health policies that tackle PI are also rapidly developing. The WHO’s “Global Strategy on Diet, Physic
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