New Delhi: The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday said that nearly 1.8 billion adults are at risk of disease from not doing enough physical activity.
Latest data from the global health watchdog show that nearly one third (31 percent) of adults worldwide, approximately 1.8 billion people, did not meet the recommended levels of physical activity in 2022. The findings point to a worrying trend of physical inactivity among adults, which has increased by about 5 percentage points between 2010 and 2022.
“If the trend continues, levels of inactivity are projected to further rise to 35 percent by 2030, and the world is currently off track from meeting the global target to reduce physical inactivity by 2030. Adults have 150 minutes of moderate-intensity, or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity, or equivalent, per week. Physical inactivity puts adults at greater risk of cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks and strokes, type 2 diabetes, dementia and cancers such as breast and colon,” the WHO said.
The study was undertaken by researchers from WHO together with academic colleagues and published in The Lancet Global Health journal.
“These new findings highlight a lost opportunity to reduce cancer, heart disease and improve mental well-being through increased physical activity,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
The highest rates of physical inactivity were observed in the high-income Asia Pacific region (48 per cent) and South Asia (45 per cent), with levels of inactivity in other regions ranging from 28 percent in high-income Western countries to 14 percent in Oceania. The WHO said that physical inactivity is still more common among women globally compared with men, with inactivity rates of 34 per cent compared to 29 per cent.
“In some countries, this difference is as much as 20 percentage points. Additionally, people over 60 are less active than other adults, underscoring the importance of promoting physical activity for older adults,” it said. Physical inactivity is a silent threat to global health, contributing significantly to the burden of chronic diseases, said Dr Rüdiger Krech, Director of Health Promotion at WHO.
Despite the worrying results, there are some signs of improvement in a few countries. The study showed that almost half of the world’s countries have made some improvements over the past decade, and 22 countries were identified to be on track to reach the global target of reducing inactivity by 15 percent by 2030, if their trend continues at the same pace.
In light of these findings, WHO is calling on countries to strengthen their policy implementation to promote and enable physical activity through grassroots and community sport and active recreation and transport (walking, cycling and use of public transport), among other measures.
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