31% of the population does not engage in any physical activity, especially women
31 percent of the world’s adultsthat is, Nearly 1.8 billion adults do not engage in any form of physical activity and are at risk of illness because of it, especially womenwhat does increase mean six hundred from 2010 to 2022According to new data presented World Health Organization (WHO) and published in an article in The Lancet Global Health.
The results indicate an “alarming” trend in physical inactivity among adults, from 24 percent in 2010 to 31 percent in 2022.. As WHO experts emphasized at a press conference dedicated to the study, If this trend continues, inactivity rates are expected to continue to rise, reaching 35 percent by 2030.and the world is currently far from achieving the global target of reducing physical inactivity by 2030.
Nevertheless, In Spain, this rate is below the global average because only 25 percent of the population does not engage in any physical activity, with women being less active than men.
Currently The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that adults engage in 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity.or equivalent per week, so Failure to adhere to these recommendations would fall under the concept of “lack of physical activity,” which affects one third of the world’s population.
In this context, WHO Director of Health Promotion, Dr. Rüdiger Krechwarned that Inaction is a “silent threat to global health” because it “contributes significantly to the burden of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes or respiratory disease.”
“In 10 years, 500 million new cases of noncommunicable diseases could be avoided, costing the public health system $300 billion, if the population achieved recommended levels of physical activity.”. “Physical activity must be accessible, affordable and enjoyable for everyone so that we can significantly reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases and mental disorders,” he said.
On the other side, The data also shows a continuing trend for women to be less active than men, with an inactivity rate of 34 percent versus 29 percent.“In some countries this figure rises to 20 percent, and in more than a third of countries it exceeds 10 percent,” said the head of the WHO Department of Noncommunicable Diseases Surveillance, Monitoring and Reporting Dr. Lynn Riley.
Besides, The highest rates of physical inactivity are found in high-income countries in the Asia-Pacific region (48%) and South Asia (45%).While inactivity rates in other regions range from 28 percent in Western high-income countries, including Spain, to 14 percent in Oceania.
Except, People over 60 are less active than other adultswhich highlights the importance of promoting physical activity among older adults.
As experts emphasize, there are Some reasons why physical inactivity is on the rise around the worldwhich includes changes in work patterns (trends towards more sedentary work), changes in the environment making active transport more difficult, and changes in leisure activitiesthat is, more sedentary activities in front of a screen.
Considering these data, The World Health Organization calls on countries to strengthen the implementation of policies that encourage and facilitate physical activity.