Table 2.

Summary of strong evidence for health effects of physical activity and sedentary behaviour

Health effects of physical activity
Population group	Cohort research Physical activity is associated with a lower risk of:	RCTs Physical activity has a beneficial effect on:
Adults
Convincing	Depressive symptoms	Depressive symptoms
	Cardiovascular disease	Blood pressure Fat mass Abdominal circumference
	Diabetes	Weight Insulin sensitivity Diabetes (1 study)
Plausible	Breast cancer
	Colorectal cancer
	Premature mortality
Older adults
Convincing	Fractures, especially hip fractures	Fractures
		Muscle strength
		Fat-free mass
		Walking speed
Plausible	Dementia, cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease
	Disability
Children
Convincing	Depressive symptoms	Depressive symptoms
		Cardiorespiratory fitness
		Muscle strength
		Insulin sensitivity
		Weight and fat mass in children with overweight or obesity
		Bone quality
Health effects of sedentary behaviour
Population group	Cohort research Sedentary behaviour is associated with an increased risk of:
Adults
Plausible	Death from cardiovascular disease
	Premature mortality