Updating national physical activity guidelines based on the global WHO guidelines: experiences and challenges from Switzerland

Kahlmeier, Sonja; Frei, Anja; Kriemler, Susi; Nigg, Claudio; Radtke, Thomas; Manike, Katja; Endes, Simon (2023). Updating national physical activity guidelines based on the global WHO guidelines: experiences and challenges from Switzerland. Current Issues in Sport Science (CISS), 8(1), 014. Bern Open Publishing 10.36950/2023.1ciss014

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Physical activity guidelines are recognized as an important element of anational approach to promote physical activity. This publication summarizesthe approach and process taken t o update the Swiss Guidelines, presents asummary of the updated guidelines and discusses experiences and identifieschallenges. The multistage project involved: 1) to summarize the scientificevidence underpinning the 2020-edition of the WHO guidelines; 2) to sys-tematically analyze the existing Swiss guidelines for different target groupsand to de velop proposals for updates 3) a participatory process t o gain con-sensus with the main interested groups 4) to finalize the guidelines. Updatedguidelines were adopted f or infants, pre-school children, children and youngpeople, adults, older adults and pregnant and postpartum women, in mostcases following the WHO guidelines. Children, young people and adults liv-ing with disability and adults and older adults with chronic conditions arespecifically addressed in each of the general guidelines for healthy popula-tions, rather than developing separate guidelines for each of these groups asdone by the WHO. The systematic approach in identifying aspects t o update,the participatory approach and a scientific consortium and project c oordina-tion group with different thematic backgrounds were key strengths in theprocess. Challenges included the large amount of f eedback and finding sci-entifically sound compromises. The updated v ersions of the Swiss nationalguidelines provide an excellent basis to further promote physical activity inSwitzerland. A remaining key task is to de velop a range of c ommunicationtools and materials for different target groups beyond the circle of e xpertsand interested groups, considering available evidence on optimal messagingand best outlet tools and channels. To track population prevalence, inform policy and evaluate physical activity promotion at national and sub-nationallevel in a timely fashion, strengthening existing physical activity monitoringwill be important.

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