Sports scientists at FAU revise national recommendations for physical activity and the promotion of physical activity
Erlangen-Nuremberg/Germany, February 27, 2025. How and how often should we exercise to stay healthy? And how can physical activity be promoted institutionally? These are the central questions of the national physical activity recommendations, which are being revised by experts at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG) until 2026. Prof Dr Klaus Pfeifer, Head of the Physical Activity and Health Unit at the Department of Sports Science and Sport at FAU, explains the aims of the project and what results can be expected in an interview.
Professor Pfeifer, you were involved in the federal government’s exercise recommendations published in 2016. How did this come about?
The starting signal was actually given back in 2013, when the EU urged the member states to formulate national recommendations for health through physical activity. The BMG then approached us with the request to draw up a corresponding paper.
What do the recommendations look like?
On the one hand, the physical activity recommendations are aimed directly at people to educate them on how to stay healthy through exercise. This part is essentially based on the WHO recommendations – for example, it states that we should be physically active for at least 150 minutes per week. This does not necessarily have to be sport, but can also include walking, cycling or gardening, for example. We are implementing this for individual social groups: Children and young people, adults, older people and people with non-communicable diseases.
The second part is focussed on promoting physical activity in our society, i.e. what framework conditions can be created for physical activity. Here we analysed which measures are effective in promoting physical activity. To do this, we looked at the environments in which people are active: Daycare centres, schools, businesses, municipalities, retirement homes, sports clubs. We involved stakeholders from these areas in the development of our recommendations for promoting physical activity back in 2016.
Why are the physical activity recommendations being revised now?
The BMG initiated a round table in 2023 involving federal and state ministries, local authorities, social insurance providers, sports associations and specialist and professional organisations. They came to the conclusion that the national recommendations for promoting physical activity in particular should be revised by 2026. This result also reflects the progress made in science. New findings from the last ten years make this update necessary. The WHO also revised its physical activity recommendations in 2020 and specifically included new target groups, including pregnant women and women after childbirth, people with disabilities and people with chronic illnesses. Germany already took on a pioneering role in promoting physical activity in 2016 and is now expanding this further. In particular, the recommendations for promoting physical activity should also take into account the needs and knowledge of various stakeholders in the promotion of physical activity.
How are you proceeding with this revision?
Firstly, we are doing an evidence update: we are looking at what new findings there are on the topic of physical activity and health and which measures to promote physical activity are particularly successful – not just in Germany or Europe, but worldwide. This extensive work forms the scientific basis for the new paper. At the same time, we are involving other social stakeholders in the process: Scientists from other universities and representatives from the transport, education, health and sport sectors. NGOs and associations are also involved this time, such as the ADFC and KLUG. We are creating this alliance in order to make measures to promote physical activity even more concrete than before.
Can you already reveal more about the new measures?
We will focus more strongly on social change: If, for example, all-day schools become the standard in the education sector, then we need to look at how exercise can be organised there. If there is a lack of opportunities here, then cooperation with sports clubs may be conceivable. The facilities need to become more flexible. Another good example: it is not enough to put a bicycle stand in front of the business. It is also crucial that the necessary infrastructure is in place so that people can get there safely and comfortably by bike. This requires a network of stakeholders and cooperation between different sectors in order to create safe routes, good connections and suitable parking facilities.
Overall, we also want to pay more attention to the quality of exercise. It should not just be about counting the minutes, but exercise should be enjoyable and ideally also promote social contacts, personal skills and individual autonomy. Less pressure, more fun, more togetherness – this is the direction we want to take.
Hotter and drier summers are expected due to climate change. Will you also respond to this with the new recommendations?
Absolutely. Heat can become a problem, especially for vulnerable groups such as the very old or people with non-communicable diseases. At the same time, exercise can contribute to climate protection in a very ideal way – for example, if I leave the car at home and cycle to work instead. These links should be emphasised in the recommendations. In addition, the resource consumption of certain physical activities could be specifically taken into account in order to promote sustainable approaches – stand-up paddling on the local quarry pond instead of surfing in the Azores, to put it bluntly.
About the research project
The research project ‘Updating and further development of the National Recommendations for Physical Activity and the Promotion of Physical Activity’ started in February 2025 and is funded by the Federal Ministry of Health with 500,000 euros. The recommendations are of great national importance: they form the scientific basis for political measures and initiatives to promote physical activity in Germany. The physical activity recommendations published in 2016 were developed at FAU. They led to the establishment of central structures such as the ‘Round Table on Physical Activity and Health’ as well as scientific follow-up projects dealing with the implementation and dissemination of the recommendations.
Further information:
(https://www.sport.fau.de/das-institut/forschung/bewegung-und-gesundheit/forschungsprojekte/nebb-update/)
Projektwebseite des Lehrstuhls
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Andrzej Rembowski Pixabay