MADRID, June 27 (EUROPE PRESS) –
Data released this Wednesday by the World Health Organization (WHO) on rising levels of physical inactivity has prompted the sporting goods and fitness industry to call for urgent action to address this alarming trend.
The data shows that a third, 31 per cent, of adults are inactive and do not achieve the recommended level of physical activity, set at 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week. If this trend continues, the global rate of physical inactivity is expected to increase to 35% in 2030 (up from 26% in 2010).
In addition, there is a growing gap in physical activity practices by age and gender, with women being less active than men by at least 5 percentage points, and physical inactivity increasing rapidly from age 60.
New data on teenagers will be published this year, but it is already known that 81 percent do not engage in enough physical activity to maintain good health. And the economic cost of treating diseases that can be prevented through more active lifestyles will exceed $300 billion by 2030.
For this reason, multinational sports goods companies such as Adidas, Amer Sports, ANTA, Arena, ASICS, Cycle Europe, Decathlon, Li-Ning, New Balance, Nike, On, Orbea, Pentland Brands, Puma, Restube, Shimano, SHRED. , Specialized, SRAM, Tecnica Group, Under Armour, Wearable Technologies and Yonex have joined together as the World Federation of Sporting Goods Industry (WFSGI) to support this call for urgent action.
The national sporting goods federations of Austria, Brazil, Germany, Japan, Norway, Spain, Great Britain, USA, Cycling Industries Europe, FESI Europe and ISPO, as well as the federations of retail, health and fitness, have joined this action. physical, FEDAS Europe, European Association for Outdoor Activity and Health and Fitness.
Signatory organizations represent the sporting goods, retail, healthcare and fitness industries. Together they form a platform that aims to stimulate the global sports industry to find and implement solutions to address the growing problem of physical inactivity.
THE PRICE OF INACTION
New data showing rising levels of physical inactivity among the world’s population has direct public health implications by contributing to the rise in obesity and noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), which are chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer and respiratory diseases. and diabetes.
Although the global rate of inactivity among adults is still estimated at 28 percent, the WHO has estimated that the cost of physical inactivity will exceed $300 billion. activity.
Physical inactivity rates among adolescents exceed 80 percent, and the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on physical activity levels among children is not yet known. Without urgent action to reverse this trend, there is a very real risk that children and young people will become a significant health and economic burden on society as they grow into adulthood.
INDUSTRY COMMITMENTS
The private sporting goods and fitness industry has made commitments such as raising awareness of the crisis, which they say is not getting enough attention from the government and the media.
Supporting people to lead more physically active lifestyles by leveraging industry expertise in commercializing the power of sport and physical activity around the world and channeling their passion, creativity and energy into meaningful action to change physical activity trends.
Use the opportunity of major sporting events to raise awareness of the importance of physical activity and launch community initiatives aimed at inactive people.
Form partnerships within the business community and across sectors to co-create a new era of workplace health, active travel and physical activity initiatives that encourage employees to lead active and healthy lives.
COLLABORATION TO PROMOTE CHANGE
The sporting goods and fitness industry is committed to working with public sector policymakers and WHO to address global levels of physical inactivity by supporting the Organization in its work to implement the World Cup Physical Activity Plan of Action (GAPPA).
New evidence on sedentary behavior shows the world is far from meeting the WHO target of reducing the global prevalence of physical inactivity among adults and adolescents by 15 percent by 2030.
“Activity is a major issue for communities around the world. Movement can have an incredibly positive impact on people’s wellbeing, both mentally and physically, even if it’s just for a few minutes a day. At Decathlon, we’re big advocates of helping people incorporate movement into their daily lives for the benefit of their own health and the health of society as a whole. Our goal is to help people discover the wonders of sport – to build a happier, healthier world by making it easier for people to do the sports they love the way they do best,” said Barbara Martin Coppola, CEO of Decathlon.
For his part, WFSGI President Andy Rubin said that “solving the global crisis of inaction requires teamwork.” “New data on adult inaction shows not enough is being done to reverse this trend. That’s why, even though we are competitors in business, we come together to share our insights into consumer behavior and engagement. We are all in this business to help people become more active and develop a lifelong passion for sport and physical activity and the benefits it brings,” he said.