31% of the world’s population does not engage in any physical activity, especially women.

He 31 percent of the world’s adultsthat is, almost 1.8 billion adults, does not engage in any physical activity and are at risk of contracting it, especially women, representing a six percent increase between 2010 and 2022, according to new data presented by World Health Organization (WHO) and published in an article in The Lancet Global Health.

The results indicate ‘Alarming’ trend of physical inactivity among adults will increase from 24 percent in 2010 to 31 percent in 2022. As WHO experts highlighted at a press conference announcing the study, if this trend continues, inactivity rates are expected to continue to rise to reach 35 percent in 2030, and the world is currently far from meeting the global target of reducing physical inactivity by 2030. year.

However, Spain is below the world average because only 25 percent of the population does not engage in any physical activityand women are more inactive than men.

Currently World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that adults do 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activityor the equivalent amount per week, so failure to meet these recommendations would fall under the category of “lack of physical activity,” which covers a third of the world’s population.

In this context, WHO Director of Health Promotion Dr. Rüdiger Krech warned that failure to act “silent threat to global health“because “it makes a significant contribution to the burden of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes or respiratory diseases.”

“In 10 years, 500 million new cases of noncommunicable diseases could be avoided, at a cost to the public health system of $300 billion, if the population reached the level recommended level 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 hand, the data also shows a continuing trend towards women being less active than men: the inactivity rate is 34 versus 29 percent, “rising to 20 percent in some countries and higher in more than a third of countries.” . 10 percent,” said Dr. Lynne Riley, Head of Surveillance, Monitoring and Reporting at the WHO Department of Noncommunicable Diseases.

Likewise, higher rates of physical inactivity observed in the area of ​​the city. Asia Pacific High Income (48%) And South Asia (45%)while inactivity rates in other regions range from 28 percent in Western high-income countries, including Spain and 14 percent from Oceania.

Besides, People over 60 years old less active than other adults, highlighting the importance of encouraging physical activity among older adults.

As experts point out, there are many reasons why physical inactivity is increasing around the world, including changes in the nature of work (a trend toward more sedentary work), changes in the environment that make active transport more difficult, and changes in leisure activities. e. , more sedentary activities in front of a screen.

Given these findings, the World Health Organization is calling on countries to strengthen policies that encourage and facilitate physical activity.