Our inactive lives are killing us. In its first global report, the World Health Organization calls for countries to prioritise physical activity to improve health and tackling disease.
Almost 500 million people will develop heart disease, obesity, diabetes or other noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) attributable to physical inactivity, between 2020 and 2030, if governments don’t take urgent action to encourage more physical activity among their populations. Data from 194 countries show that countries need to accelerate the development and implementation of policies to increase levels of physical activity and thereby prevent disease and reduce burden on already overwhelmed health care systems. The Global Status report on physical activity 2022 measures the extent to which governments are implementing recommendations to increase physical activity across all ages and abilities. If finds that less than half of countries have a national physical activity policy, of which fewer than 40 per cent are operational. And only 30 per cent of countries have national physical activity guidelines for all age groups. Nearly all countries report a system for monitoring physical activity in adults, three quarters (75 per cent) of countries monitor physical activity among adolescents, but less than 30 per cent monitor physical activity in children under the age of five. And on policy areas that could encourage active and sustainable transport, only just over 40 per cent of countries have road design standards that make walking and cycling safer. “We need more countries to scale up implementation of 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 Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “We hope countries and partners will use this report to build more active, healthier and fairer societies for all.”
widening inequalities The economic burden of physical inactivity is significant and the cost of treating new cases of preventable non-communicable diseases is expected to reach almost US$ 300bn by 2030, that’s around US$ 27bn per year. Whilst national policies to tackle NCDs and physical inactivity have increased in recent years, currently almost a third (28 per cent) of policies are reported to be not funded or implemented. The report shows that only just over 50 per cent of countries ran a national communications campaign, or organised mass participation physical activity events in the last two years. The Covid-19 pandemic not only stalled these initiatives, but has also affected other policy implementation which has widened inequities in access to and, opportunities for, engaging in physical activity for many communities.
what gets measured gets done To help countries increase physical activity, WHO’s Global action plan on physical activity 2018-2030 sets out 20 policy recommendations – including policies to create safer roads to encourage more active transport, provide more programmes and opportunities for physical activity in key settings, such as childcare, schools, primary health care and the workplace. The Global Status report assesses country progress against those recommendations, and shows that much more needs to be done. One critical finding in the report on physical activity is the existence of significant gaps in global data to track progress on important policy actions – such as provision of public open space, provision of walking and cycling infrastructure, provision of sport and physical education in schools. The report also calls for weaknesses in some existing data to also be addressed. “We are missing globally approved indicators to measure access to parks, cycle lanes, footpaths – even though we know that data does exist in some countries. Consequently, we cannot report or track the global provision of infrastructure that will facilitate increases in physical activity,” says Fiona Bull, head of the WHO Physical Activity Unit. “It can be a vicious circle, no indicator and no data leads to no tracking and no accountability, and then too often, to no policy and no investment. What gets measured gets done, and we have some way to go to comprehensively and robustly track national actions on physical activity.” The report calls for countries to prioritize physical activity as key to improving health and tackling NCDs, integrate physical activity into all relevant policies and develop tools, guidance and training to improve implementation. “It is good for public health and makes economic sense to promote more physical activity for everyone. We need to facilitate inclusive programmes for physical activity for all and ensure people have easier access to them,” said Dr Ruediger Krech, director of the WHO Department of Health Promotion. “This report issues a clear call to all countries for stronger and accelerated action by all relevant stakeholders working better together to achieve the global target of a 15 per cent reduction in the prevalence of physical inactivity by 2030.”
