# The Awareness and Adoption of UK Physical Activity Guidelines by Socio-Demographics: A National Cross-Sectional Survey in Wales

## TL;DR

This study found that only a small fraction of people in Wales are aware of UK physical activity guidelines, with some groups being less likely to know specific recommendations.

## Contribution

The study provides new insights into the awareness and adoption of physical activity guidelines across different socio-demographic groups in Wales.

## Key findings

- Only 21.7% of participants had heard of the physical activity guidelines.
- Females and participants with disabilities were less likely to know specific recommendations.
- Awareness of guidelines was positively linked to knowing and following the recommendations.

## Abstract

Designing and communicating physical activity guidelines takes considerable resources; thus, understanding the awareness and adoption of such guidelines by different population groups is important. A national cross-sectional survey (N = 972; aged 19+ years living in Wales) was delivered as part of a population panel using a multi-method approach (online, telephone and face-to-face). The survey measured the awareness and adoption of the 2019 UK physical activity guidelines and recommendations and socio-demographics, including age, sex, residential deprivation and disability status. Around a fifth (21.7%) of participants had heard of the physical activity guidelines. Almost a third (30.7%) reported knowing the moderate physical activity recommendation, with 13.3% knowing the vigorous physical activity recommendation and 13.4% knowing the muscle-strengthening recommendation. There were no significant socio-demographic differences in knowing the moderate recommendation (p > 0.05); however, females were less likely than males to report knowing the vigorous recommendation (p = 0.009), and participants with a disability were less likely than those without a disability to report knowing the muscle-strengthening recommendation (p = 0.026). Having heard of the physical activity guidelines increased the likelihood of knowing each of the three recommendations (all p < 0.001). Additionally, for both moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and muscle-strengthening recommendations, a positive relationship was found between knowing the recommendation and reporting meeting the recommendation (p = 0.008 and p = 0.002, respectively). The awareness of both the physical activity guidelines and their recommendations was low. The development of communication strategies to aid knowledge mobilisation should be considered. Socio-demographic differences in awareness should be considered when designing interventions in line with proportionate universalism principles.