Acronyms and abbreviations

BMI

Body mass index

COSI

WHO European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative

DALYs

Disability adjusted life years

EU

European Union

EU27

The 27 European Union Member States

GPAQ

Global Physical Activity Questionnaire

HEPA

Health-enhancing physical activity, any form of physical activity that benefits health and functional capacity without undue harm or risk

LPA

Light-intensity physical activity, between 1.5 and less than 3 METs. This includes slow walking, bathing, or other incidental activities that do not result in a substantial increase in heart rate or breathing rate.

MET

Metabolic equivalent of task, a measure to reflect the intensity of physical activities, and allows comparison between them. One MET is the energy equivalent expended per unit of time by an individual while seated at rest. More intense activities, which cost more energy expenditure than being seated at rest, are attributed higher METs.

MET-minutes

A tool for tracking physical activity, calculated by the intensity of activity (in MET) multiplied by the duration of activity (in minutes)

MPA

Moderate-intensity physical activity, between 3 and less than 6 METs. This includes activities such as gardening, dancing or brisk walking.

NCDs

Non-communicable diseases

PA/BMI link

The OECD SPHeP-NCDs model includes a link between physical activity (PA) and BMI, to capture the effects of physical activity on weight

PAF

Population attributable fraction

PAP

Physical activity on prescription

PE

Physical education

PPP

Purchasing power parities are the rates of currency conversion that try to equalise the purchasing power of different currencies, by eliminating the differences in price levels between countries.

SPHeP-NCDs

Strategic Public Health Planning for Non-Communicable Diseases model

VPA

Vigorous-intensity physical activity, 6 or more METs. This includes activities such as fast swimming or running

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