Around 500 million people will suffer from non-communicable diseases due to physical inactivity by 2030 if governments do not take urgent measures to encourage physical exercise, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned today.
According to a WHO report released today, the annual cost of physical inactivity is estimated at around 27 billion dollars (27,400 million euros) globally, due to the treatment of new cases of non-communicable diseases.
“Nearly 500 million people will develop heart disease, obesity, diabetes or other non-communicable diseases attributable to physical inactivity between 2020 and 2030, which cost $27 billion a year, if governments do not take urgent action to encourage more physical activity in populations”, advances the Geneva-based organization.
The 2022 Physical Activity Report measures the extent to which governments in 194 countries are implementing recommendations to increase physical activity across all ages of their populations.
The WHO aims to achieve the global goal of reducing the prevalence of physical inactivity by 15% by 2030.
The results now released indicate that progress made in this area “is slow”, the WHO adds, stressing that most countries need to “accelerate the development and implementation of policies to increase levels of physical activity”, as a way of to prevent disease and reduce the burden on already overstretched health systems.
The report warns that less than 50% of countries have a national physical activity policy and that only 30% have national physical activity guidelines for all age groups of the population.
“Although almost all countries report a system for monitoring physical activity in adults, 75% of countries monitor physical activity among adolescents and less than 30% monitor physical activity in children under 5 years of age”, the document adds.
The WHO also states that, in active and sustainable transport policies, “only just over 40% of countries have road design standards that make walking and cycling safe”.
According to the organization, despite the increase in national policies to combat non-communicable diseases and physical inactivity in recent years, currently 28% of these policies are not funded or implemented by countries.
The report found that just over 50% of countries developed a national communication campaign or organized mass participation physical activity events in the last two years, initiatives that were also hampered by the covid-19 pandemic.
To help countries increase physical activity, the WHO Global Action Plan on Physical Activity 2018-2030 (GAPPA) sets out 20 recommendations, including creating safe pathways to encourage active transport, as well as developing programs for physical activity in environments considered essential, such as day care centers, schools, primary health care and workplaces.
“We need more countries to step up the implementation of policies that support people to be more active through walking, cycling, sport and other physical activities. The benefits are enormous, not only for the physical and mental health of individuals, but also for societies and economies.”
