By Ken Reed
According to the World Health Organization’s global status report on physical activity 2022:
“Almost 500 million people will develop heart disease, obesity, diabetes or other noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) attributable to physical inactivity, between 2020 and 2030, costing US$ 27 billion annually, if governments don’t take urgent action to encourage more physical activity among their populations.”
Yikes!
“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.”
* Less than 50% of countries have a national physical activity policy, of which less than 40% are operational.
* Only 30% of countries have national physical activity guidelines for all age groups.
The WHO report compiled data from 194 countries. The data revealed that progress towards a more physically-active population is slow. As such, the report urges countries to accelerate the development and implementation of policies to increase levels of physical activity and thereby prevent disease and reduce the burden on already overwhelmed health care systems.
— Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans
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