Conference Agenda

Purpose: In 2023 the Dutch Government launched the Action Plan on physical activity(PA) to encourage governments, community organisations and municipalities to carry out actions to stimulate PA from a systems approach.

Methods: The National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) conducted a system evaluation study by running surveys among policy makers and organisations and by applying the action-scale model.

Results. Several positive changes were observed in the first two and a half years, but more could be have been achieved. For example, several Ministries have devoted more attention to PA. However there was little new policy from Ministries to promote PA at school or in the workplace – places where people spend much of their time sitting. In addition, an increasing number of organisations (up to 585) joined the PA Network Alliance. This resulted in new collaborations that help people be more physically active. However, mainly ‘simple’ actions, like sharing knowledge, which have limited impact on PA system change were performed. Finally, within municipalities, a growing number of domains are collaborating on the topic of PA.

Conclusions: To achieve the government’s ambitious target that 75% of Dutch people meet the PA guidelines by 2040, RIVM recommends that ongoing efforts using a systems approach are needed in the coming years. This will also require actions with more impact on the overall PA system such as changing societal beliefs related to PA. In addition, policymakers can do more to link PA to other topics, such as mental health and climate.