I · FLAGSHIP AREA
Exercise is Medicine
Making the exercise prescription a routine part of family medicine and everyday clinical practice.
Evidence4.4%Only this share of family doctors prescribe exercise.3
Movement–Health Bridge
Measure · Connect · Sustain
Sustainable movement,
sustainable health.
To get Türkiye moving, we bring doctors, teachers, coaches and cities to the same table.
of people aged 15+ do no physical activity
- 21.8%adult obesity · TÜİK 2025
- ~22%overweight or obesity in children aged 7–8 · COSI-TUR 2022
- 4.4%of family doctors prescribe exercise · survey
- 31%of adults worldwide insufficiently active · WHO 2024
§ 01 · Why now?
In Türkiye, inactivity is not the exception. It is the norm.
Roughly nine in ten people aged 15 and over say they do no physical activity. Fewer than one in twenty meet the recommendation of 150–300 minutes a week.1
The problem is not limited to adults: more than one in five primary-school-age children are overweight or obese,2 and adolescent girls move far less than boys.4 In the doctor's office, exercise is almost never prescribed.3
Every figure below rests on a published source. Definitions differ from source to source; reconciling those differences openly is the job of the Movement Report Card.
Research in context
Summary panelAWhat is known
In Türkiye, 86.6% of people aged 15+ do no physical activity; obesity is 21.8% among adults, and overweight plus obesity is ~22% among children aged 7–8.
BWhat is missing
Official statistics count licences and registrations, not regular activity. There is no independent, repeatable annual measurement. Exercise is rarely prescribed in clinical practice.
CWhat 3SDER adds
An independent Movement Report Card based on an international method; a bridge that brings doctors, schools, coaches and municipalities to one table; a climate and sustainability lens.
Key findings
7 indicators · 5 sources-
86.6%
Share of people aged 15+ who do no physical activity.1
TÜİK · Türkiye Sağlık Araştırması 2025 -
4.1/2.7%
Men / women meeting the 150–300 min-per-week recommendation.1
TÜİK · 2025 -
21.8%
Adult obesity rate.1
TÜİK · 2025 -
~22%
Overweight (12.5%) + obesity (9.9%) in children aged 7–8.2
COSI-TUR 2022 -
4.4%
Share of family doctors who prescribe exercise.3
Family doctor survey -
69.8%
Girls aged 12–14 who do no exercise at all (boys: 41.4%).4
TBSA 2010 · as cited by HSGM -
31%
Adults worldwide who are insufficiently active.5
WHO · 2024
Figure 2
The gender gap shows up in every dataset
Women and girls trail men and boys on every indicator measured. Scale: 0–100%. The top two rows show "no exercise at all" (higher = worse); the bottom two rows use different definitions.
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Age 12–14, no exercise at allTBSA 2010M 41.4% F 69.8% +28.4 pts
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Age 15–18, no exercise at allTBSA 2010M 44.6% F 72.5% +27.9 pts
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World, insufficiently active adultsWHO 2024M 29% F 34%
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Türkiye, meeting 150–300 min/weekTÜİK 2025 · higher = betterF 2.7% M 4.1%
Sources: TBSA 2010 (as cited in the HSGM Action Plan 2025–2028)4 · WHO 20245 · TÜİK 2025.1 Figures come from different years and definitions; do not compare across rows.
Figure 3
Exercise in the clinic: ask, advise, prescribe
How often family doctors in Türkiye address exercise with patients. The rate drops at every step.
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Ask about exerciseStep 1 · Ask30.1%
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Give counsellingStep 2 · Advise20.0%
-
Prescribe exerciseStep 3 · Prescribe4.4%
Source: Survey study on exercise counselling by family doctors, Hacettepe University.3
Method note
TÜİK reports the share doing "no physical activity at all", while WHO reports the share "insufficiently active"; these definitions are not directly comparable. Figures on this page are given as published in their sources.
Sources
- TÜİK (Turkish Statistical Institute), Türkiye Sağlık Araştırması 2025. Reported by Habertürk.
- Ministry of Health (HSGM), COSI-TUR 2022; Obezite ile Mücadele ve Fiziksel Aktivite Eylem Planı 2025–2028 (Obesity and Physical Activity Action Plan).
- Survey study on exercise counselling by family doctors, Hacettepe University Open Access.
- Türkiye Beslenme ve Sağlık Araştırması (TBSA, Nutrition and Health Survey) 2010; as cited in the HSGM Action Plan 2025–2028 (see 2).
- World Health Organization, news release, 26 June 2024.
- UNFCCC, Sports for Climate Action Framework: Prospective signatory booklet; Commitment letter.
- International Olympic Committee climate target; reported by sustainability.sport.
- British Association for Sustainable Sport and FrontRunners, "Rings of Fire" report; reported by Green Queen and LBC.
- WHO Global Action Plan on Physical Activity (GAPPA) 2030 target; included in SandSI's 2030 goals: sustainability.sport.
§ 02 · Focus areas
Five gaps nobody fully owns.
Children's movement is our public-facing flagship programme; medicine, climate and healthy ageing are the professional engine that feeds it.
II
Movement Report Card
Measuring how much Türkiye really moves, independently and repeatably.
EvidenceOfficial statistics count licences and registrations, not regular activity.
III
Climate and heat-safe sport
Evidence-based guidance on extreme heat, air quality and sustainable sports facilities.
EvidenceClimate–health work in Türkiye has not yet covered physical activity.
IV
Girls and women
Making visible, and reducing, the barriers to girls' and women's participation in sport.
EvidenceAt age 12–14, 69.8% of girls do no exercise at all; among boys, 41.4%.4
V
Lifestyle medicine and healthy ageing
Building lifestyle medicine, which treats movement, nutrition, sleep and social connection together, into an organised field.
EvidenceNo established medical society in this field could be identified in Türkiye.
§ 03 · Flagship publication
Türkiye Movement Report Card
An independent annual report that grades children's and young people's physical activity using an international method. The first Report Card will be prepared with a university partner and published in 2027. No grades have been given yet.
Preview · Draft · Issue 1
Türkiye Movement Report Card
Sustainable Health and Sports Association
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Share of children and young people doing at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity a day.
Possible data sources: TÜİK, WHO, national surveys -
Weekly PE hours, their quality, and opportunities to move at school.
Possible data sources: MEB (Ministry of National Education) data, school surveys -
Share of children who walk or cycle to school.
Possible data sources: municipal and transport data -
National strategy, action plan and budget commitments for physical activity.
Possible data sources: HSGM Action Plan 2025–2028, legislation -
Girls' participation in sport and physical activity, and the gender gap.
Possible data sources: TÜİK, TBSA, COSI-TUR
Grades will be given after data collection and an independent assessment.Page 1 / 1
Grading scale
- A81–100% meet the benchmark
- B61–80%
- C41–60%
- D21–40%
- F0–20%
- ?Insufficient data / not yet graded
Method. The Report Card follows the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance (AHKGA) methodology together with a university partner. Secondary sources such as TÜİK, COSI-TUR, MEB and WHO are assessed, and conflicting definitions are reconciled openly.
Methodology workshop coming soon§ 04 · Sustainability
Healthy movement, a liveable climate.
The climate crisis touches sport in two ways: rising heat threatens safety on the field, and sport has to cut its own emissions. Global sport and health bodies have set their targets for 2030; we want to make those targets workable at the level of schools, clubs and municipalities.
The targets in this section are targets announced by the international organisations concerned; they are not results achieved by 3SDER. Our services are in preparation.
Figure 4
The road to 2030: announced targets in sport and health
Horizontal axis 2020–2040. The filled dot shows a measured value; open rings show announced targets or a projection. The targets use different measures; do not compare across rows.
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UN Sports for Climate Action6UNFCCC · signatory organisations−50%emissions Net zero
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International Olympic Committee7IOC · direct and indirect emissions−50%emissions
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WHO GAPPA9Relative reduction in inactivity−15%relative
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Insufficiently active adults worldwide5WHO · if trends continue31%2022 35%projected
Sources: UNFCCC6 · IOC7 · WHO GAPPA9 · WHO 2024.5 The global inactivity trend shows movement away from the target, not towards it.
Active transportWalking and cycling are a health measure and a climate measure at the same time: they add minutes of daily movement and, to the extent they replace motorised trips, cut emissions.
The Report Card's "Active transport" indicator →Services
Six services for schools, clubs and municipalities.
- Open for requests
- We are already collecting early requests.
- Coming soon
- The service is in preparation; we log your request and get back to you when it is ready.
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Open for requestsSchools · Clubs · Municipalities
Heat-safe sport guide and training
Planning training, PE lessons and events around heat thresholds; putting postponement and cooling decisions in writing ahead of time.
Request info: Heat-safe sport guide and training -
Coming soonEvent organisers · Federations
Sustainable event advisory
Waste, transport and energy plans for runs, tournaments and festivals; alignment with the principles of UN Sports for Climate Action.
Request info: Sustainable event advisory -
Coming soonEvents · Clubs
Event carbon footprint estimate
Estimating emissions from participant travel, energy and waste with a simple, transparent methodology; a reusable reporting template.
Request info: Event carbon footprint estimate -
Open for requestsMunicipalities · Schools
Active transport and school-route programmes
Routes, safety and a school–parent–municipality partnership model so that children can walk and cycle to school.
Request info: Active transport and school-route programmes -
Coming soonMunicipalities · Facility operators
Green sports facility pre-assessment
A checklist-based pre-assessment of energy, water, shade and heat management and accessibility, with priority improvement suggestions.
Request info: Green sports facility pre-assessment -
Coming soonDoctors · PE teachers · Coaches
Climate and health training
A short training module that brings the links between heat, air quality and physical activity into professional practice.
Request info: Climate and health training
We plan to sign the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework.
Organisations in sport join the framework, launched by the UNFCCC at COP24 in 2018, by submitting a commitment letter, regardless of their current stage. Signatories commit to halving their emissions by 2030 and reaching net zero by 2040.6
Once we have signed, we plan to publish our emissions baseline and reduction plan on this page.
[not yet signed]
Planned
Commitment letter · signed on behalf of 3SDER
§ 05 · Call for a coalition
One million children moving regularly, in five years.
This is not a success report but a coalition target: schools, municipalities, clubs and families together.
Figure 5
Target number of children, linear scale
Hatched areas are target values, not achieved results.
Note: Values are 3SDER's coalition targets; none of them is an achieved result.
Call for pilots
Would your school like to be a pilot?
We are collecting expressions of interest from schools that want to join the first pilot.
§ 06 · Roadmap
Trust first. Then evidence. Then scale.
Each phase depends on the previous one passing review. We are in Phase 0 now.
-
0–6 months Now
Phase 0: Trust
- Removing every claim that cannot be verified
- Publishing the board, statutes, DERBİS no. and financial summary
- Setting up the Scientific and Advisory Board
- Commitment letter to the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework
- Online membership and live member counts
-
6–18 months
Phase 1: Evidence and Alliances
- The first Türkiye Movement Report Card
- 15-minutes-a-day school pilot
- Protocols with professional associations and municipalities
- The first Sustainable Movement Summit
-
18–36 months
Phase 2: Certification and Congress
- Exercise prescription training and certificate programmes
- National congress
- Second issue of the Report Card
-
3–5 years
Phase 3: National Scale
- Public adoption of proven formats
- Reaching the One Million Children target
§ 07 · Membership
From parents to professors, a door for everyone.
Under the Law on Associations, voting rights belong to Professional (Full) members; the other categories are open to all and online.
| Category | Who it's for | Contribution | Vote | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01Supporter Recommended · Join now | Parents, volunteers, everyone | Free | — | Newsletter, event invitations and One Million Children volunteering. |
| 02Student | Health and sport science students | Nominal fee | — | Campus ambassadorship, discounted training, working-group participation. |
| 03Professional (Full) | Doctors, physiotherapists, coaches, teachers, dietitians | 500 TL / year | ✓ | Vote at the general assembly, training discounts, working groups. |
| 04Institutional | Universities, municipalities, clubs, schools | Tiered annual | — | Network membership, pilot sites, data partnership. |
| 05Corporate Supporter | Companies from sectors without a conflict of interest | Tiered | — | Workplace programmes and event partnerships. Conflict-of-interest policy applies → |
| 06Honorary / Fellow | Senior scientists, honorary members | By election | — | Advisory board and a future "3SDER Fellow" title. |
Our community in numbers
- Registered supportersto be shown live from the database
- —
- Professional and student membersto be shown live from the database
- —
- Institutional membersto be shown live from the database
- —
We only show verified, real numbers from the database. We do not publish estimated or rounded "success" figures.
§ 08 · Governance
Scientific and Advisory Board
Medicine, public health, education, nutrition and climate science at the same table. Seats will be filled by name as members are confirmed; we show empty seats as empty.
Prof. Dr. Bülent Bayraktar
Sports medicine, Istanbul University.
- Seat 02
Public health
[Name to be added] - Seat 03
Family medicine
[Name to be added] - Seat 04
Physiotherapy
[Name to be added] - Seat 05
Education
[Name to be added] - Seat 06
Nutrition
[Name to be added] - Seat 07
Climate and health
[Name to be added]
§ 09 · Transparency
We show what is missing as missing.
The answer to any question a funder or journalist would ask should be here. Documents not yet published are clearly marked.
Public disclosure statement
Status · October 2026- StatutesThe association's founding documentPDF coming soon
- DERBİS numberAssociations Information System registration[to be added]
- Board of directorsNames, titles and roles[to be added]
- Annual financial summaryOne-page income and expenditure summary[to be added]
- Full addressAssociation headquarters[to be added]
- Sponsorship and conflict-of-interest policySummary in this sectionFull text coming soon
This statement will be updated and dated as documents are published.
Sponsorship and conflicts of interest
We do not accept sponsorship or donations from the following sectors:
- Tobacco products
- Alcoholic drinks
- Betting and gambling
- Sugary drinks
Single-source cap
Rule: No single source may make up more than 40% of total income. The hatched area shows the largest share any one source can reach.
§ 10 · Calendar
News and events
Examples of planned events. Dates and details will be updated as they are confirmed.
23–30September
European Week of Sport #BeActive
We plan to register 3SDER events in the European Week of Sport calendar, held every year from 23 to 30 September.
—No date
Movement Report Card methodology workshop
A workshop to define indicators and data sources with academic partners. Date to be confirmed.
—No date
Sustainable Health Summit
The first summit bringing together doctors, educators, coaches and municipalities. Date to be confirmed.