Physical activity: key data sources
A dashboard with data related to various physical activity outcomes in Scotland is available on the Active Scotland Outcomes Framework page.
The physical activity module of the annual Scottish Health Survey collects information on the frequency, usual duration and usual intensity of physical activity over the four-week period immediately prior to interview. This allows the calculation of summary measures of physical activity, so that levels of activity can be assessed against recognised guidelines. The Scottish Health Survey team publish Supplementary Web Tables that provide data on a wide range of physical activity measures for both adults and children. Scottish Health Survey data are available for 1995, 1998, 2003 and annually from 2008. While questions on physical activity were asked in the 2020 Scottish Health Survey, changes in survey delivery due to the COVID-19 pandemic mean that 2020 data are not directly comparable to those from previous years. See the Scottish Health Survey 2020 technical report. Caution is also advised when comparing 2021 results from previous years, due to methodology changes. See the Scottish Health Survey 2021 technical report.
The Active Healthy Kids Scotland Report Card was first published in 2013 to provide a 'state of the nation' report on the physical activity and health of Scottish children and adolescents. The report card draws on data from a wide range of sources to provide a 'grade' for ten indicators. International comparison data were published in 2022, and the last full report card was published in 2021.
The Scottish Household Survey has been conducted annually since 1999/2000. It includes a module of questions on travel and transport that includes the question: How do you usually travel to work (or school/college/university if in full-time education)? Detailed results from this question are published by Transport Scotland. Questions on participation in physical activity and sport in the last four weeks were introduced into the Scottish Household Survey in 2007, with local authority data available annually from 2012 onwards. Due to changes in the way the 2020 and 2021 surveys were run during the COVID-19 pandemic, results from these years are not directly comparable with those from previous years. (See the Scottish Household Survey 2021 methodology report).
The Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey includes questions about moderate and vigorous physical activity in the last week, as well as mode of travel to school and sedentary behaviour. For example, young people are asked to report the number of days over the past week during which they took part in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity for a total of at least 60 minutes. The 2022 report provides the latest data from Scotland and the 2017/18 report contains the most recent international comparison of the responses of boys and girls across countries. Data are also available for 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018.
The Global Observatory for Physical Activity (GoPA!), a Council of the International Society of Physical Activity and Health, was established following the launch of The Lancet Physical Activity Series in 2012 (updated in 2016 and 2021). The Observatory aims to produce biennial standardised Country Cards, including Scotland, highlighting the status of surveillance, policy and research in the field of physical activity and health. The latest Country Card for Scotland was published with 2020 data.
