WHO: a third of the world’s population has insufficient physical activity

The World Health Organization (WHO) said this Wednesday that the latest data it has analyzed indicates that a third (31%) of adults, or 1.8 billion people, do not carry out the recommended physical activity, with a trend towards greater inactivity in the adult population.

The data taken into account allow us to reach general conclusions, and according to them, the level of physical inactivity among adults increased by 5% between 2010 and 2022 (last year with global data) and if this continues, activity levels will reach 35%. % in 2030.

The standard recommendation is 150 minutes of moderate physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week.

It has been shown that physical inactivity in adults is an important risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, such as heart attacks or blood clots; in addition to type 2 diabetes, dementia and some types of cancer, such as colon and breast.

By region, the highest levels of inactivity were observed in high-income Asia-Pacific countries, where they reach 48% in some places and in South Asia (45%), while in some Western countries it affects 28% of the population.

Data indicate that gender has an impact on physical inactivity, with it being a more common problem among women. Also, it has been observed that people over 60 years of age tend to be less active than younger adults, despite the importance of exercise to maintain good health.

“We need to find ways to motivate people to be more active, taking into account factors such as age, environment and cultural background, making physical activity more accessible, inexpensive and enjoyable for everyone.”commented WHO Health Promotion Director Rüdiger Krech.

On the positive side, the analysis shows that almost half of the world’s countries have made some improvements in the last decade, with 22 potentially meeting the international goal of reducing inactivity by 15% in 2030.

“Within 10 years, 500 million new cases of non-communicable diseases, at a public health cost of US$300 billion, could be avoided if populations engaged in recommended levels of physical activity, so we need to find innovative ways to motivate people.”Krech stressed.