Behavioural epidemiology of physical activity in people living with chronic conditions

Central to the development of public health guidelines is robust evidence on the dose-response association between physical activity, morbidity and mortality. Following publication of the 2020 recommendations, the WHO Guideline Development Group highlighted key evidence gaps on this topic for people living with cancer, type 2 diabetes, hypertension and HIV/AIDS.4 While specific deficits were identified for each condition, common themes included the need for well-conducted prospective cohort studies and randomised controlled trials, wider use of device-based assessment of physical activity and larger sample sizes to enable effect modification analyses by condition subtype and sociodemographic factors. These points also apply to other chronic conditions, such as coronary heart disease and arthritis, which were not addressed by the WHO due to lack of evidence. © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.