Shaping active lives: from childhood to early adulthood

This Research Topic builds on Schools as an Arena for Health-Promoting Physical Activity: Volume I here and broadens the focus to explore how physical activity and health develop from childhood through adolescence and into early adulthood.

Physical activity in childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood plays a crucial role in shaping lifelong health outcomes. Across these formative life stages, regular engagement in physical activity is consistently linked to enhanced physical fitness, improved cardiometabolic and bone health, better cognitive functioning, stronger mental wellbeing, and higher overall quality of life. Yet, despite its well-documented benefits, physical activity levels decline markedly from childhood to early adulthood. This decline, often accompanied by rising sedentary behaviours driven by increased screen time, academic demands, and shifting social and environmental contexts, represents a critical public health concern.

Recent research highlights the significant short- and long-term health implications of insufficient physical activity and excessive sedentary time. However, key questions remain regarding how physical activity habits are formed, sustained, or lost during major developmental transitions and as social and environmental contexts change. Although interest in promoting physical activity is growing and numerous interventions have been implemented, important gaps persist in understanding the dynamic interplay between social, environmental, and behavioural factors that shape physical activity trajectories during these pivotal years.

This Research Topic aims to advance multidisciplinary knowledge on the determinants of physical activity participation across childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood. The objective is to clarify how social, environmental, and behavioural influences interact to support or hinder engagement in physical activity during key life transitions, and to evaluate policies, programs, and interventions designed to promote a sustainable and health-enhancing physically active lifestyle. Core questions include: Which factors most strongly predict increases or declines in physical activity during adolescence? How can supportive environments and policies be designed to promote lifelong engagement in physical activity? And which strategies appear most effective in reversing the rise in sedentary behaviour?

To gather further insights in understanding patterns, interventions, and outcomes related to physical activity from childhood to early adulthood, we welcome research targeting diverse populations and contexts. Articles may address, but are not limited to, the following themes:
• Social and environmental determinants of physical activity patterns
• Longitudinal studies on physical activity and sedentary behaviour trends
• Program evaluations and intervention effectiveness
• Policy analysis and systems-based approaches to promoting physically active lifestyles
• Barriers and facilitators to maintaining a physically active lifestyle during key life transitions
• Sustainable strategies to support lifelong health through physical activity
• Context-specific challenges (e.g., school, community, digital environments)
• Qualitative and mixed-methods approaches to understanding lived experiences

Keywords: physical activity, health behaviour, adolescence, life transitions, young adulthood, health promotion, well-being

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.