The World Health Organization (WHO) has published the first-ever global status report on physical activity, highlighting the economic burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) attributable to physical inactivity. It predicted that nearly 500 million people worldwide will develop noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) including heart disease, obesity, and diabetes between 2020 and 2030, if urgent actions are not taken to increase physical activity among the people. Further, it estimated that the cost of treating new cases of such preventable diseases will contribute to rise of economic burden of nearly US$ 300 billion by 2030, costing US$ 27 billion annually.
The Global status report on physical activity 2022, which included data from 194 countries, showed that less than 50 per cent of these countries have a national physical activity policy and only 30 per cent have national physical activity guidelines for all age groups.
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus encourages more countries to implement policies to support people to be more active through walking, cycling, sport, and other physical activity.
"The benefits are huge, not only for the physical and mental health of individuals, but also for societies, environments, and economies," said Dr Tedros added.
To help countries increase physical activity, the WHO had introduced Global action plan on physical activity 2018-2030 (GAPPA) recommending 20 policies. Among others, the UN health agency recommends countries to create safer roads to encourage more active transport and isntroduce programmes for physical activity in key settings, such as childcare, schools, primary health care and the workplace.
The Global Status report asked countries to focus on promoting physical activity to tackle noncommunicable diseases (NCDs).
Dr Ruediger Krech, Director Department of Health Promotion, stressed the need for stronger and accelerated action for achieving the global target of a 15 per cent reduction in the prevalence of physical inactivity by 2030.
