A grassroots community-based physical activity pilot initiative has set a strong foundation for a national approach to improving the physical activity levels of all Australians, according to the industry’s peak body.
AUSactive’s Million Moves initiative, held in May on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, aimed to boost physical activity in Australians by collectively achieving “one million moves” per each federal electorate within the region.
For 21 days, the Sunshine Coast and Moreton Bay electorates of Fisher, Fairfax, Wide Bay and Longman were invited to join the challenge. To successfully reach the target, individuals had to complete a minimum of 75 moves a day for 21 days. Overall, more than two million moves were achieved, driven through community engagement and support from local businesses, MPs and AUSactive businesses and exercise professionals.
AUSactive CEO Barrie Elvish says the successful Million Moves pilot showed the community’s incredible appetite to get active to achieve a goal. “Motivation to move comes in many different ways, but we know that exercising with friends and family or getting involved with the local community is a huge driver for many people – Million Moves has proven this,” says Mr Elvish.
“The first Million Moves initiative was held on the Sunshine Coast in May and the response from the community and local businesses was phenomenal.
“Getting physically active with others has the added benefits of social interaction, camaraderie and a sense of enjoyment and fun.”
“More than 1,300 people from the region pledged their commitment to complete a minimum of 75 moves each day for 21 days to highlight the fact that 75 per cent of Australians are not getting the recommended amount of physical activity.”
Inaugural Million Moves Challenge Winners:
The Most MyZone Effort Points (MEPs) was Fisher with more than 70,000 MEPs
The Most Active MP Award went to Llew O’Brien who achieved 4,456 MEPs
The Most Active Electorate was Fairfax with 488 people participating
The Most Active Team was awarded to LiFT Strength and Conditioning who had 106 pledges.
A national public health campaign
Mr Elvish says the Million Moves Challenge was part of a bigger focus on rolling out a national public health campaign to get more people active and that the research component conducted by Sunshine Coast University had already uncovered some important findings.
“The campaign findings so far support current physical activity trends that show activity levels are increasing in older adults, with the largest age cohort participating in Million Moves being in the 45-54 age group,” says Mr Elvish. “The data here would support a message that there needs to be a focus on young to middle aged adults to establish increased activity and exercise habits to help prevent future disease and aged-related functional decline.
“Establishing good exercise and physical activity habits in early years can help prevent many lifestyle-related health problems later in life.
“Getting moving with others can also help with mental health by providing opportunity to talk, communicate and support others while getting the body moving – movement really is the silver bullet for overall health and wellbeing.”
As part of the research component of the Million Moves Challenge, all participants were
given a booklet with information to support them in continuing their exercise habits and
they will surveyed again in three and six months to measure results.
To accelerate initiatives such as Million Moves, AUSactive is continuing to lobby government to provide funding for a national public health campaign encouraging physical activity, emphasising its potential to transform the health landscape of Australia.
“We are urging the government to collaborate with us and other grassroots and/or community organisations to develop and activate a comprehensive national public health campaign aimed at elevating the physical activity levels of all Australians.” says Mr Elvish.
“AUSactive has recently been granted funding by the Queensland Government to roll out the Million Moves Challenge statewide in 2025; this is a fantastic stepping stone to a bigger national approach.
“The proven success of the first Million Moves Challenge is a great catalyst for changing the mindset of millions of Australians to get moving, simply by challenging local communities to work together to achieve a successful outcome.
“In this instance, the successful outcome is not only on an individual’s improved health but also on the multitude of benefits a healthier and more active Australia has on our health system, preventable disease, obesity rates, diabetes and mental illness.”
Mr Elvish says AUSactive-led campaigns would also focus on female participation, lower socioeconomic groups, people living in rural or remote areas, those from non-English speaking backgrounds and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who are disproportionally impacted by chronic disease rates.
“If all Australians experienced the same disease burden as the most advantaged Australians do, one fifth of the burden of chronic disease would be reduced. It’s another example of how working together as a whole community can benefit everyone,” he says.
Life. Be in it. Again!
Drawing inspiration from the successful “Life. Be in it.” campaign launched in the mid-70s to promote physical activity, AUSactive advocates for a contemporary iteration of this proven model in a multimedia context. This approach has demonstrated remarkable success, with a reported 20 per cent of surveyed individuals taking affirmative steps to embrace a more active lifestyle.
“By adapting this successful framework to contemporary Australia, we believe it can provide a tested and effective strategy for driving positive behaviour change at a national scale to increase physical activity,” says Mr Elvish.
“AUSactive would take a leadership role in this campaign, leveraging our partnerships with academia, government agencies, health organisations and our extensive nationwide membership to collaborate with community-based stakeholders.
“This inclusive approach ensures that the campaign is tailored to the diverse needs and contexts of different communities across the country.”
AUSactive said a national public health initiative aligns with the government’s National Preventive Health Strategy, which advocates for mass media campaigns linked to actionable behaviour change, fostering healthier social norms by increasing
physical activity.
The strategy sets ambitious targets to reduce the prevalence of insufficient physical activity among adolescents and adults by at least 15 per cent by 2030.
“Importantly, our proposal strategically aligns with the government’s campaigns to reduce vaping and smoking rates and tackle the increasing incidence of diabetes,” says Mr Elvish.
“Research shows a correlation between smoking, diabetes and lower levels of physical activity."
“Recognising the efficacy of exercise in reducing the desire for cigarettes, integrating the promotion of increased recreational physical activity into a broader public health initiative becomes a pivotal strategy to achieve the government’s goal of reducing the smoking rate to 5 per cent or less by 2030."
“Exercise aids in reducing the incidence of diabetes by enables muscle cells to use insulin and glucose more efficiently, thus lowering diabetes risk. Exercise also helps people to manage their weight, one of the single biggest risk factors for diabetes.”
AUSactive is urging the government to provide support for this impactful public health campaign, emphasising its potential to revolutionise the health landscape of Australia and contribute to a more active and resilient nation.
To find out more, visit ausactive.org.au.
1300 211 311
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