Inactivity puts over 1.4b adults at physical, mental risk: WHO
Hossen Sohel: The World Health Organisation says insufficient physical activity is a leading risk factor for non-communicable disease, negatively impacting mental health and overall quality of life, reports The Eagle Online.
A newly released study published in The Lancet Global Health journal yesterday, highlighted the well-established benefits of being physically active, including a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, hypertension and diabetes, as well as breast and colon cancer.
Additionally, physical activity has positive effects on mental health, can delay the onset of dementia, and help people maintain a healthy weight, the WHO study revealed.
The study’s lead author, Regina Guthold, of WHO Switzerland, warned that more adults are lagging behind the recommended levels of physical activity required for a healthy life.
“Unlike other major global health risks, levels of insufficient physical activity are not falling worldwide, on average, and over a quarter of all adults are not reaching the recommended levels of physical activity for good health,” Guthold warned.
The study detailed the levels of insufficient physical activity in different countries and estimates global and regional trends.
The findings reveal that there has been no improvement in global levels of physical activity since 2001 and that some one-in-three women and one-in-four men globally are not active enough to stay healthy.
Moreover, levels of insufficient physical activity are more than twice as great in high-income countries as compared to that of low-income nations, with a five per cent increase in higher income countries between 2001 and 2016.
There has been little progress in improving physical activity are more than twice as great in high-income countries as compared to that of low-income nations, with a five per cent increase in higher income countries between 2001 and 2016.
There has been little progress in improving physical activity levels during that 15-year period, with data projecting that if these trends continue, the 2025 global activity target of a 10 per cent relative reduction in insufficient physical activity, would not be met.