Ten thousand steps and more. Once again, the World Health Organization (WHO) is calling for ” alarm signal “. Nearly a third of adults worldwide, 31.3%, had insufficient physical activity in 2022. A figure up 5% from 2010, according to work by WHO researchers and colleagues academics, published in the journal The Lancet Global Health, Wednesday June 26. This took into account 507 studies carried out in 163 countries. “The world is not going in the right direction”said Rüdiger Krech, WHO’s director of health promotion, at a press conference the day before. If current trends continue, inactivity levels are expected to reach 35% by 2030, the organization warns.
Thus, approximately 1.8 billion people do not practice physical activity that meets health recommendations, i.e. at least one hundred and fifty minutes of moderate physical activity per week (walking, swimming, cycling, etc.) or sixty -fifteen minutes of intense activity (running, team sports, etc.), or a combination of the two. “Physical inactivity is a silent threat to global health”, continued Rüdiger Krech. This trend is “the opposite of expectations” since The WHO’s goal was to reduce physical inactivity by 15% by 2030, he added.
Inactivity exposes you to increased risks of cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, such as those of the breast and colon, but also mental disorders, recalled Mr. Krech. Nearly 500 million people could develop pathologies attributable to physical inactivity between 2020 and 2030, which would cost 27 billion dollars (25 billion euros) per year, underlined Leanne Riley, doctor in the department of non-inflammatory diseases. WHO Communicable Diseases.
Increase after 60 years
The highest rates of physical inactivity were observed in the high-income Asia-Pacific region (48%) and South Asia (45%), some countries of which adopt the Western way, with levels in others regions ranging from 28% in high-income Western countries to 14% in Oceania, the WHO statement said. Despite these worrying results, 22 countries seem to be on the right track, including France, where this rate is at 23.2%.
Another trend which is confirmed and worrying, the lack of physical activity (PA) affects on average more women (33.8%) than men (28.7%). In almost a third of countries, the gap exceeds 10%. Age also plays a role, with a significant increase in inactivity after age 60.
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