Programs addressing the issue

The Socio Ecological Model provides a framework to understand the numerous factors and behaviour that enable or act as barriers to physical activity participation. The model consists of 4 different domains: Individual, Social environment, Physical environment, and policy. The individual level is the central level of SEM. It is the personal factors that increase or decrease the likelihood of an individual being physically active such as: Age, Gender, level of education and SES. Social environment comprises the relationships, culture, and the society with whom the individual interacts including family, peers, cultural background, and SES. Physical environments are likely to influence the amount and type of physical activity such as natural and built-up environments, availability and access to facilities, safety, and public transport. The final level (Policy level) refers to legislation, regulatory or poly making actions that have the potential to affect physical activity. These are often formal legal actions taken by local, start or federal governments but also can be informal local policies or rules in settings such as schools or workplaces. Urban planning policies, active transport policies, funding policies and health policies are all types of policies.