A new partnership is being launched to provide science-based health messaging to help improve health and educational outcomes from birth to age 18.

Scotland Moves, an initiative led by the University of Strathclyde and Inspiring Scotland, will provide evidence-based briefings for policymakers and practical guidance on physical activity for parents, healthcare professionals and educators.

The collaboration follows a recent survey which found that only half of Scottish health professionals were aware of national physical activity guidelines for school-aged children and young people. A study led by Strathclyde in 2024 found that awareness of physical activity guidelines for babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers was even lower.

International approaches

Scotland Moves will examine successful approaches used internationally, including Canada's ParticipACTION programme, which has promoted evidence-based physical activity campaigns for more than 50 years.

Physical activity plays an important role in children's physical, mental and emotional development, supporting learning, school readiness and lifelong health. However, activity levels decline from around the age of four, while many children failing to achieve recommended levels of physical activity before they even start school.

The Active Healthy Kids Scotland Report Card produced at Strathclyde earlier this year found fewer than one in five Scottish teenagers meet the international recommendation of less than two hours of screen time per day. Around half do not get the recommended sleep amount each day – nine to 11 hours for younger teenagers and eight to 10 hours for older teenagers.

Physical activity

Researchers say poor cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness has become increasingly common among young people but remains overlooked because fitness is not routinely monitored in Scotland. Children and young people living with chronic conditions or disabilities are even less likely to meet recommended physical activity levels, and more likely to have low cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness

John J Reilly, Professor of Physical Activity and Public Health Science at the University of Strathclyde, said: “It's never too early to promote healthy behaviours. The evidence shows we need to start in the earliest years of life and ensure that parents, professionals and policymakers all have access to clear, trustworthy information.

Excessive screen use is increasingly affecting both activity and sleep, and levels of physical activity among children and young people remain too low. There has been no improvement over the past 15 years or so in Scotland, with the gap between wealthy and poorer actually widening.

‘’England has provided effective guidance on screen time for the early years recently, but we still lack both screen time guidance and messaging in Scotland.’’

Dr Farid Bardid, from the Department of Physical Activity & Health at Strathclyde, added: “There is a clear need to take a different approach. Scotland Moves will provide education and evidence-based guidance for families, health and education policymakers and practitioners – an investment in healthier childhoods, better educational outcomes and improved health throughout life."

Shared responsibility

Celia Tennant, Inspiring Scotland Chief Executive, said: “We recognise that improving children's health and wellbeing is a shared responsibility requiring collaboration across organisations, sectors and communities.  

“Scotland Moves creates a space for everyone committed to physical health and wellbeing to come together and for collective action to create a culture where movement is a normal part of everyday life for every child in Scotland. 

“We are pleased to be working with the University of Strathclyde to lead Scotland Moves, building on our longstanding partnership and shared commitment to improving the health and wellbeing of children and young people across Scotland.”

Scotland Moves was established by an Economic and Social Research Council Impact Acceleration Award Grant to the University of Strathclyde.