Keynote Speaker

Prof. Marie Murphy, Ulster University

Over the last 3 decades there has been a shift away from recommending vigorous-intensity exercise for health towards moderate-intensity physical activity with walking becoming the cornerstone of public health recommendations. Walking is an inexpensive accessible form physical activity and when used for transportation, walking also has the potential to contribute to a healthier planet. Professor Murphy will provide an overview of the evidence underpinning the association between walking and reductions in disease risk and improvements physical and mental health describing what works when promoting walking at individual and population level.

Prof. Willem van Mechelen, UMC Amsterdam

Lack of daily physical activity and regular exercise is a major problem; to the individual and to society, as leads to substantial direct and indirect costs. Currently, there now is worldwide an increased effort to get the population physically more active. Critical questions are: to what extend is physical activity behaviour determined by nature? to what extend can people actually self-regulate their physical activity behaviour? or is such behaviour largely determined by contextual factors and do we need a Nanny to guide us? This lecture will address these questions, taking the Public Health perspective into ac-
count.