Dear Colleagues,

Physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB) are important determinants of health, quality of life and well-being. Despite the scientific evidence showing not only the physical but also the social and emotional benefits associated with regular PA and reduced SB, physical inactivity (e.g. not engaging in at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous PA per week) and sedentariness are widespread across many populations.

Physical inactivity and prolonged SB are costly to individuals, employers, and society. An inactive lifestyle can lead to higher health care expenditures, lost wages and productivity, and even declines in mental health. While we find numerous interventions aimed at increasing levels of PA and reducing SB in the scientific literature, the majority have achieved limited success particularly over the long term and when implemented in real-life conditions. In health promotion literature, there has been considerable concern about the need to maintain and retain health benefits achieved from health promotion interventions. It is widely recognized that there is a huge gap between the development of evidence-based interventions for public health and health promotion and their successful and sustainable implementation.

It is believed that interventions to reduce physical inactivity and SB will be ineffective over the long term, or at a population level, unless people are given opportunities (e.g. such as a supportive environment), resources, capability, and motivation to avoid or minimize SB and engage in regular PA. For this special issue, we invite submissions that thoroughly describe interventions to promote PA and/or reduce SB in all stages of life with a clear focus on strategies to enhance adherence, sustainability and implementation in practice. We are particularly interested in high-quality research related to evaluating the effect and/or process of health promotion interventions to reduce physical inactivity and SB. Researchers are invited to contribute novel work to be considered for publication in this special issue, including original articles, short communications, systematic reviews or meta-analyses.

Dr. Maria Giné-Garriga
Dr. Jason Wilson
Dr. Anna Puig-Ribera
Dr. Andrea Hergenroeder
Guest Editors

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• health promotion
• movement behaviour
• physical activity
• sedentary behaviour
• health-related interventions
• efficacy trials