The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that a quarter of the world's population has not exercised enough. WHO has indicated that the risk of getting serious illnesses in those who do not exercise well in a healthy way is also increasing.
New data published in The Lancet Global Health today show that more than one in four adults globally (28% or 1.4 billion people) are physically inactive. However, this can be as high as one in three adults inactive in some counties.
According to WHO, around one and a half billion adults around the world can die because they are physically inactive.
The paper, authored by four World Health Organization experts, reports data that update 2008 estimates on levels of activity and, for the first time, reports trend analyses showing that overall, the global level of inactivity in adults remains largely unchanged since 2001.
Women were less active than men, with an over 8% difference at the global level (32% men vs. 23%, women). High-income countries are more inactive (37%) compared with middle income (26%) and low-income countries (16%).
These data show the need for all countries to increase the priority given to national and sub-national actions to provide the environments that support physical activity and increase the opportunities for people of all ages and abilities, to be active every day.
The new Global Action Plan on Physical Activity sets the target to reduce physical inactivity by 10% by 2025 and 15% by 2030.
Regular physical inactivity increases people's risk of poor health, including cardiovascular disease, several types of cancer and diabetes, falls, as well as mental health conditions. Publication of levels of participation in children and young people are forthcoming.
Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq are the countries with the highest risk of getting illnesses
Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq were among the countries where more than 50 percent of the adult population live an inactive life and the highest risk of getting sick.
Approximately 40 percent of adults in the United States do not exercise adequately. This ratio is 36 percent in the UK and 14 percent in China.
Increasing physical activity in the study has also shown that muscle building improves heart and breathing, strengthens the bones, and reduces the risk of hypertension, heart attack, stroke, diabetes, depression and some types of cancer.
ILKHA