Australia’s new physical activity guidelines won’t shift the needle – here are 4 better ideas

The federal government has just released updated physical activity guidelines for adults and older adults (aged 65+) for the first time in more than a decade.

The Australian government first produced guidelines for adults in 1999, building on decades of strong evidence that physical activity delivers tremendous health benefits.

So, what’s changed with the new guidelines, and will they produce strong health outcomes?

What’s changed?

The guidelines “illustrate what a healthy 24 hours of movement looks like” and “aim to help people improve their health and wellbeing through movement”.

For the first time, Australia has adopted “24 hour movement guidelines” for adults, now including sleep.

Specifically, they recommend 7-9 hours a night of good quality sleep, with consistent bed and wake-up times.

New “practical guidance” on how to meet the recommendations are provided, for example: “for those who are able and track daily steps, aim for 7,000 or more steps per day”.

We commend the new guidelines – they provide evidence-based information on ways to get healthier.

But it is only information.

Without changes to laws, policies and funding, the guidelines tell people to do more – without more.

What’s missing?

The guidelines frame physical activity as your responsibility: they tell you to move your body and get a good night’s rest, regularly.

But making it our responsibility isn’t working at the population level. Since the first guidelines in 1999, national physical activity levels have remained stubbornly low.

Guidelines haven’t and won’t shift the needle on population levels of physical activity. They provide information, not supportive environments that can eliminate barriers to activity, such as lack of time and cost-of-living pressures.

Decades of research show population activity levels and sleep quality are primarily shaped by our physical and social environment, such as where people live, what is close by, what it costs and how much spare time we have.

Creating active neighbourhoods through supportive laws, funding and policies will shift the needle.

Here are four policy ideas that would actually increase Australians’ physical activity.

1. Redirect road funds to walking and cycling

The vast majority of Australians support redirecting road funds to walking and cycling.

Walking and riding deliver strong population health benefits, which translate into economic benefits. For example, for every one kilometre walked, it is estimated the national economy benefits by A$6.30, while every kilometre cycled benefits the economy by $4.10.

Current investment in foot and bike paths is dismal. The per person spend at a federal level is much less than the cost of a coffee.

By comparison, we subsidise driving by $8 billion a year. That is, federal, state and local governments spent $44 billion last year on roads, but collected just $36 billion in road-related revenue.

That makes the subsidy for driving 300 times greater than the investment in walking and cycling.

Redirecting this driving subsidy to an investment in walking and cycling would make economic and health sense.

2. Shift away from ‘just do it’ messaging

Mass media campaigns have largely failed to change population levels of physical activity.

Global evidence is clear: just telling people to move more isn’t working.

Rather, mass media messaging should highlight the many benefits of physical activity, which in turn may build public acceptance for better physical activity policies.

3. Change car traffic and speed limits

The more people have to drive, the worse our health outcomes are.

To boost walking and cycling, streets need to be safe and things people need – such as schools, jobs and shops – need to be close by.

Policies such as congestion charges and removing subsidised parking make it possible to change from car-centric cities to ones that support walking and cycling.

Making streets safer supports more people to move around by foot or bike. One way to do this is through default speed limits in built-up areas.

Currently, the default speed limit in built-up areas, in all jurisdictions, is 50 kilometres per hour. In the 1990s, it used to be 60kmh – and changing it to 50kmh has saved hundreds of lives.

However, global best practice is 30kmh, creating a safer environment.

4. Remove red tape on creating active villages

Why are “local” shops so far away for many of us, or not accessible by foot? Because of several planning related laws that ingrain low-density housing without access to local shops.

Rethinking housing density limits, setback requirements, minimum parking requirements and single-use zoning laws will allow cafes and shops back into new residential areas.

This means more people will be able to walk, ride or scoot to where they need to go.

Lessons from overseas

Some 61 countries have shifted the dial and are on track to meet their national physical activity targets. Australia isn’t one of them.

Many of these countries are in Western Europe and Scandinavia, well known for having laws that create highly walkable environments.

Half of countries globally have a standalone national physical activity policy but Australia doesn’t despite calls to action by non-government organisations.

Policy changes must shift beyond individual motivation to move more – instead we must reshape our environment through laws and funding. We need more population approaches if we are to shift the dial on physical activity.