Global Alliance for the Promotion of Physical Activity: the Hamburg Declaration

Abstract

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including coronary heart disease, stroke, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, dementia, depression and cancers, are on the rise worldwide and are often associated with a lack of physical activity (PA). Globally, the levels of PA among individuals are below WHO recommendations. A lack of PA can increase morbidity and mortality, worsen the quality of life and increase the economic burden on individuals and society. In response to this trend, numerous organisations came together under one umbrella in Hamburg, Germany, in April 2021 and signed the ‘Hamburg Declaration’. This represented an international commitment to take all necessary actions to increase PA and improve the health of individuals to entire communities. Individuals and organisations are working together as the ‘Global Alliance for the Promotion of Physical Activity’ to drive long-term individual and population-wide behaviour change by collaborating with all stakeholders in the community: active hospitals, physical activity specialists, community services and healthcare providers, all achieving sustainable health goals for their patients/clients. The ‘Hamburg Declaration’ calls on national and international policymakers to take concrete action to promote daily PA and exercise at a population level and in healthcare settings.

Application of mental fitness tools in the prevention of stress-associated conditions of female students of higher education establishments

“…Scientists are focused on the search for HRMA means that can reduce the manifestations of stress-related conditions in students of higher education and prevent stress-related health disorders in them (Andrieieva et al, 2022;Pavlova et al, 2023;Steinacker et al, 2023). Numerous testimonies prove their sustainable positive effect.…”

Effects of a Therapeutic Exercise Protocol for Patients with Chronic Non-Specific Back Pain in Primary Health Care: A Single-Group Retrospective Cohort Study

“…Each question is scored from 0 (no disability) to 5 (complete disability), with a maximum score of 50. Depending on this score, the scale presents no disability (<5), mild (5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14), moderate (15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24), severe (25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34) and complete disability (>34) levels. This is a scale with a standard error of measurement (SEM) of 4.3 [35], with excellent test-retest reliability (Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) = 0.96) [36] and consistency (Cronbach alpha = 0.92) [37].…”

“…Thus, further interventional studies are necessary in order to find better interventions to generate clinical improvements in pain intensity and disability for patients who suffer from non-specific low back pain [23]. Indeed, exercise interventions, including some different physical activity modalities such as core stability and mobility exercises, may be considered as moderate-quality treatments to provide improvement in non-specific back pain disability for the mid-term and long-term in patients with chronic non-specific back pain [27,28]. Nevertheless, future research is needed to get beneficial guidance for a more rigorous study in this field [29,30].…”

Hiking for health the Swiss way! Highlighting the global importance of physical activity

“…With the recent publication of the 'Hamburg Declaration', 139 organisations worldwide have so far committed themselves to contribute to the Global Alliance for the Promotion of Physical Activity. 5 This includes promoting PA as medicine, advocating with decision makers, implementing active lifestyles at the individual, community and environmental levels, using innovative technologies to increase PA, and calling for more research to prove the effectiveness and implementation of policies and programmes. This is echoed by Baldwin (see page 1229) in this issue of BJSM.…”