Physical Activity and Health
Physical Activity and Health is a research topic within Physiology. Science Explorer counts 37k research works in it since 1951. 24.4% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.
This cluster of papers explores the effects of physical activity, exercise, and sedentary behavior on various health outcomes, including cardiovascular disease, mental health, and chronic diseases. It also discusses intervention strategies and public health implications related to physical activity.
- Physical Activity
- Exercise
- Sedentary Behavior
- Health Benefits
- Cardiovascular Disease
- Mental Health
- Public Health
- Physical Fitness
- Chronic Diseases
- Intervention Strategies
- Research works
- 37k fractional, since 1951
- In the world top 10%
- 8.9k per year above
- Top-10% rate
- 24.4% share of its works in the world top 10%
- Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
- +41% the tick is no change
This ranks research output and citation impact. It says nothing about the quality of diagnosis, treatment or care.
Which countries lead Physical Activity and Health research?
By volume, the United States and China publish the most (1.9k and 988 works in 2022–2025).
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 United States 1.9k works
- 2 China 988 works
- 3 United Kingdom 605 works
- 4 Australia 447 works
- 5 Canada 381 works
- 6 Brazil 366 works
- 7 Spain 331 works
- 8 Germany 320 works
- 9 Japan 290 works
- 10 South Korea 226 works
How concentrated that is
The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.
Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.
Which institutions lead Physical Activity and Health research?
By volume in 2022–2025, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill publishes the most Physical Activity and Health research, followed by The University of Sydney and University of British Columbia.
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 University of North Carolina at Chapel HillUnited States 48 works
- 2 The University of SydneyAustralia 40 works
- 3 University of British ColumbiaCanada 28 works
- 4 Deakin UniversityAustralia 28 works
- 5 The University of QueenslandAustralia 26 works
- 6 Beijing Sport UniversityChina 26 works
- 7 Harvard UniversityUnited States 24 works
- 8 University of Southern DenmarkDenmark 23 works
- 9 Shanghai University of SportChina 23 works
- 10 University of JyväskyläFinland 23 works
Who are the leading researchers in Physical Activity and Health?
The most-cited researchers publishing on Physical Activity and Health include Tommi Vasankari and Mika Kivimäki.
- 1 Tommi Vasankari Finland 6.9k citations
- 2 Mika Kivimäki United Kingdom 6.7k citations
Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.
Where is Physical Activity and Health research done?
The largest centres of Physical Activity and Health research in 2022–2025 are Beijing (China), Seoul (South Korea), London (United Kingdom) and Shanghai (China). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Jyvaskyla.
Largest cities, 2022–2025
Where it is the local speciality
- JyvaskylaFI · 28.9 works17×
Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Physical Activity and Health than the world average.
Where is the best place to study Physical Activity and Health?
Among universities, judged by research, Shanghai University of Sport, University of Jyväskylä and Victoria University score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.
One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.
| # | University | Score | Top 10% | Specialisation | Works | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shanghai University of SportChina | 63.9 | 36.1% | 47.4× | 23 | +76.8% |
| 2 | University of JyväskyläFinland | 59.5 | 28.8% | 14.6× | 23 | +29.3% |
| 3 | Victoria UniversityAustralia | 58.7 | 26.6% | 17.8× | 13 | +122.5% |
| 4 | Deakin UniversityAustralia | 57.0 | 37.3% | 7.1× | 28 | -2.9% |
| 5 | University of Newcastle AustraliaAustralia | 56.8 | 40.0% | 8.2× | 15 | +11.1% |
| 6 | University of Southern DenmarkDenmark | 56.7 | 30.3% | 8.5× | 24 | +0.7% |
| 7 | Chengdu Sport UniversityChina | 56.6 | 58.3% | 48.2× | 9 | -62.5% |
| 8 | University of South AustraliaAustralia | 56.2 | 28.7% | 11.2× | 21 | -6.0% |
| 9 | Capital University of Physical Education and SportsChina | 55.3 | 43.5% | 57.4× | 8 | +74.1% |
| 10 | University of LimerickIreland | 55.1 | 14.0% | 13.6× | 19 | +114.9% |
Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.
Is Physical Activity and Health research growing?
Output in 2018–2022 was 41% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Physical Activity and Health.
The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.
Which topics inside it are moving
Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.