Governmental interventions and youth physical activity in France

Abstract Data from a representative sample of 2474 French youth show that, despite a 7-year French Ministryof Health strategy for nutrition and physical activities, adolescents’ motivation to practise sportsand physical activities decreased significantly between 2001 and 2008.While this paper focuses onthe context of physical activity in France, the general discussion may be applicable to othercountries concerned with the obesity pandemic. Introduction Short communication Physical activity appears to reduce the risk for over 25 chronicconditions, including coronary heart disease, stroke, hyper-tension, various cancers, type 2 diabetes and osteoporosis(Twisk et al. 1997; Warburton et al . 2007). Physical activity par-ticipation may also be an important component of obesity pre-vention programmes (Alfano et al . 2002). Given the low rates ofphysical activity in North America and Europe, with less 50% ofyouth being active enough to gain health benefits (Bauman et al . 2009), promotion of physical activity is therefore a publichealth priority.Similar to initiatives in the USA, Canada, England, Spain andother countries (Hill 2004; Neira & De Onis 2005), the FrenchMinistry of Health developed a French strategy for nutrition,physical activity and the prevention of obesity in 2002. Theinitiative, named PNNS (Programme National Nutrition Sante)or‘MangerBouger’(meaning‘EatMove’), aimed to improve dietand to encourage engagement in regular physical activity by allcitizens, with a special emphasis on adolescents and children.This strategy was reinforced in 2005 by a law mandating thefood industries to include information on the promotion ofphysical activity in all of their advertisements.We tested whether governmental interventions developed inline with the French strategy were associated with increasedyouth physical activity.The purpose of this cross-sectional studywas to compare youth’s physical activity and sport participationand reasons for participation in 2001 (prior to the health strat-egy) and 2008 (post health strategy) in Provence, France.A questionnaire, approved by the Institutional Review Boardof the University of the Mediterranean, was distributed invarious classrooms between 23 March and 13 April 2001, andbetween 1 February and 1 April 2008. Details on the design,methods and population have been published previously(Recours