We Do Have Enemies and We Should Know Who They Are: The Commercial Determinants of Physical Activity

Physical activity (PA) is political and has enemies. This article lays out the common understanding of enemies of physical activities, offers some critiques, and provides ways forward to improve our ability to address the harms caused by them. Knowing the enemy is vital to improving public health. An enemy is an actor that is actively or passively opposed to policies that would increase population-level PA. Examples of our enemies include the housing, transport, fuel, and car manufacturing industries when they actively or passively oppose policies that would increase population-level PA. Understanding the enemies of PA is neglected in the literature and in our advocacy efforts, to the detriment of PA policy action. To inform policy action on PA, we need to know who the enemies are, how they operate, and how they exert their power. Increasing population-level PA will not be solved by embracing apolitical actions targeting individuals, but by confronting the inherent politicalness of PA policy action to impact the population. Identifying and understanding the enemies of PA will be an important contribution to building the commercial determinants of PA and to strengthening our coalitions to advocate for a new, healthier political direction.