Governing for sustainable health
Institutional pathways in China's sport and health policy (1949–present)
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22073185 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Guanqun Luo (0000-0002-7931-2925, Zhejiang University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 13 |
| Pages | 1660488-1660488 |
| Publication date | 2025-08-29 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Frontiers in Public Health (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2296-2565 • E-ISSN: 2296-2565 |
| Publisher | Frontiers Media SA (PUBLISHER • CH) |
| DOI | 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1660488 |
| PMID | 40951371 |
| OpenAlex | W4413803853 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 35 |
Introduction: Since 1949, China's sport and health policies have evolved from mass-mobilization campaigns centered on "strengthening physical fitness" to a data-driven framework emphasizing "weight management" and cross-sectoral collaboration under the Healthy China 2030 strategy. However, the institutional processes underpinning this transition remain insufficiently understood and rarely subjected to systematic analysis. Methods: Guided by historical institutionalism, this study conducts a discourse analysis of 15 national policy documents issued between 1949 to present. Python-based text segmentation and keyword frequency and co-occurrence analyses were used to trace shifts in governance instruments and institutional layering. Results: Findings reveal a three-stage trajectory: (1) an initial stage of ideological mobilization (1949-1995) characterized by centralized fitness directives; (2) a second stage (1996-2015) featuring chronic disease prevention, performance-based targets, and provincial pilot programs; and (3) a current stage (2016-present) focused on obesity control, digital health platforms, and real-time multi-level coordination. Discussion: This path-dependent layering-from campaign rhetoric to target-based planning to data-enabled governance-demonstrates how embedding new health objectives within entrenched institutional routines, while incrementally integrating cross-sectoral data systems, can foster sustainable policy adaptation. These insights offer a practical and transferable model for other middle-income countries pursuing scalable, evidence-informed health governance
Business · Corporate governance · Health care · Political science · Public relations · Global Public Health Policies and Epidemiology · Physical Activity and Health · Sport and Mega-Event Impacts · Health Policy
The Dangers of Decentralization
The economic burden of physical inactivity
Rapid health transition in China, 1990–2010
Explaining Institutional Change
The implementation of “integration of sports and medicine” in China
The Institutional Evolution of Chinese University Data Governance
Olympic Dreams
Urban-Rural Differences in Physical Fitness and Out-of-School Physical Activity for Primary School Students
Policy Analysis of the Integration of Sports and Medicine against the Backdrop of “Healthy China”
Policy capacity
People, recreational facility and physical activity
Policy Experimentation in China’s Economic Rise
The Whole‐of‐Government Approach to Public Sector Reform
Ideas as coalition magnets
Collaborative Governance in Theory and Practice
Increasing Returns, Path Dependence, and the Study of Politics
Survival of the project
Political Science and the Three New Institutionalisms
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 3 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |