My research career in physical activity for health began when I trained as a physical education teacher at Dunfermline College, where I learned that people could get ‘hypokinetic’ (too little movement) disease. Dunf – as it was affectionately known – became part of Moray House College of Education, which in turn became part of the University of Edinburgh, and so when I was appointed as Professor of Physical Activity for Health in 2012, I felt I had returned home.
More recently, ‘sport’ was added to the Moray House School of Education title. The word sport represents the work of those teaching and researching physical education, sport management, coach education, sport science and physical activity for health.
The future looks long for physical activity for health as a research topic. For me it has moved from the minor mention of ‘hypokinetic disease’ in a gymnastics book to a major public health concern. Physical inactivity causes the same number of global deaths as smoking – a surprising comparison for many.
Here are three topics that researchers from various disciplines are tackling right now:
- How best to encourage people into activity? Maybe the answer is walking!
- How messages about activity should be framed? Here the answer is likely to be about the ‘feel good effect’ rather than inactivity being risky for health.
- Is sitting down too much, bad for our health? Here the answer is yes – and we are building evidence not only of long-term influences but on short term effects such as back pain.
Future topics which call on collaboration across the teams of researchers in Moray House School of Education and Sport include how physical education and physical activity for children can help academic performance. As the evidence for this link between body and mind becomes clearer, physical education will never be cancelled in favour of exam preparation and the beginnings of hypokinetic disease will, at the very least, be delayed.
Learn more about our MsC Physical Activity for Health programme
Learn more about our research in Physical Activity for Health
Explore an interactive timeline of the School’s history
About the author
Professor Nanette Mutrie, MBE, is the founding director of the Physical Activity for Health Research Centre (PAHRC) and former Chair in Physical Activity for Health.
