A bibliometric analysis of three decades of physical activity and health research in China

Abstract Overview

RESEARCH ABSTRACT

Background: Physical inactivity is one of the leading risk factors for non-communicable diseases worldwide.

Purpose: This article evaluates three decades (1990-1999; 2000-2009; 2010-2019) of progress in physical activity and health research in China.

Methods: A systematic review was conducted by the Global Observatory for Physical Activity GoPA! for Pubmed, SCOPUS, and ISI Web of Knowledge ‘physical activity and health’ publications between 1950 and 2019. For this study, we focused on the 610 Chinese publications identified. We assessed the evolution in the number of publications and classified them into five areas (1. Prevalence, measurement, and trends; 2. Correlates and determinants; 3. Health consequences; 4. Interventions; and 5. policy).

Results: The average number of “physical activity and health publications” increased from one per year in the 90s to 7.6 per year in the 2000s, and to 47 per year in the 2010s. Most publications focused on the correlates and determinants (38.7%) and the health consequences of physical activity (35.9%). Physical activity policy accounted for 2.3% of the publications. In the 90’s, only 11 articles were identified, of which seven were on the health consequences of physical activity. Although the absolute number of articles increased from 11 to 520 articles in the 2010s, the proportion of articles on the health consequences of physical activity decreased from 63.6% in the 1990s to 35.2% in the 2010s.

Conclusion: China has 17.7% of the world’s population and 2.6% of the scientific publications on ‘physical activity and health’ identified in a worldwide systematic review. Despite a slow start, China’s research on physical activity and health has grown rapidly since 2000.

Practical Implications: This study highlights China’s progress in physical activity and health research, offering valuable insights for public health improvement and future policy-making.

Funding: No funding information provided.

Additional Authors

Name: Diana Morales

Affiliation: Department of Health and Kinesiology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, US.

Presenting Author: no

Name: Junshi Chen

Affiliation: China National Centre for Food Safety Risk Assessment, Beijing, China.

Presenting Author: no

Name: Wenhua Zhao

Affiliation: National Institute for Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China

Presenting Author: no

Name: Anne Tang

Affiliation: Department of Health and Kinesiology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, US.

Presenting Author: no

Name: Eduardo Kohn

Affiliation: Post-graduate Program in Physical Education, Federal University of Pelotas, Brazil.

Presenting Author: no

Name: Ding Ding

Affiliation: Sydney School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.

Presenting Author: no

Name: Andrea Ramirez Varela

Affiliation: 1. Department of Epidemiology, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, School of Public Health, Houston, TX, USA. 2. Center for Pediatric Population Health, Houston, TX, USA. 3. Department of Pediatrics, McGovern Medical School at UTHealth, Houston, TX, USA.

Presenting Author: no

Name: Michael Pratt

Affiliation: Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health & Human Longevity Science, University of California, San Diego, US.

Presenting Author: no

Name: Pedro Curi Hallal

Affiliation: Department of Health and Kinesiology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, US.

Presenting Author: yes

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