Health of 1.4 bn adults at risk due to inactivity: WHO

One- in- three women, one- in- four men not active enough

United Nations, Sept. 5: Insufficient physical activity is negatively impacting more than 1.4 billion adults globally, putting them at the heightened risk of deadly diseases, the WHO has warned in a new study published Wednesday.

There has been no improvement in global levels of physical activity since 2001 and some oneinthree women and oneinfour men globally are not active enough to stay healthy, according to the findings by the United Nations health agency.

The study, published in the Lancet Global Health journal, highlights the well- established benefits of being physically active, including a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, hypertension and diabetes, as well as breast and colon cancer.

Additionally, physical activity has positive effects on mental health, can delay the onset of dementia and help people maintain a healthy weight. “Unlike other major global health risks, levels of insufficient physical activity are not falling worldwide, on average, and over a quarter of all adults are not reaching the recommended levels of physical activity for good health,” the study's lead author Regina Guthold of the World Health Organisation said.

The study details the levels of insufficient physical activity in different countries and estimates global and regional trends. Moreover, levels of insufficient physical activity are more than twice as great in highincome countries as compared to that of lowincome nations, with a five per cent increase in higher income countries between 2001 and 2016.

There has been little progress in improving physical activity levels during that 15- year period, with data projecting that if these trends continue, the 2025 global activity target of a 10 per cent relative reduction in insufficient physical activity, will not be met.

Other main findings showed that by the end of 2016, in 55 of 168 countries, more than one- third of the population was insufficiently physically active, more than half of all adults in Kuwait, American Samoa, Saudi Arabia and Iraq were insufficiently active, while inadequate levels elsewhere of 40 per cent appeared in the US, 36 per cent in the UK and 14 per cent in China.

The greatest levels of insufficient activity comparing women and men appeared in South Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East and north Africa ( 40 versus 26 per cent), and high- income Western countries ( 42 versus 31%).