There will be 500 million new chronic patients due to lack of exercise in 2030

Antonio Broto

Geneva, 19 Oct. The lack of physical activity will cause that in eight years 500 million more people in the world will suffer from chronic diseases, such as cancer, diabetes or hypertension, as well as depression, whose treatment will cost 27,000 million dollars annually, according to a study by the World Organization of Health (WHO).

The report, which is also published in the specialized journal The Lancet, calls on governments to “act urgently” to promote physical exercise in the population, not only for its individual benefits, but also social and economic benefits, since in a decade Up to $300 billion might be saved.

With that money “a million doctors might be trained,” the head of the WHO Physical Activities Unit, Fiona Bull, said at a press conference.

If the current situation continues otherwise, the study fears that lack of exercise will contribute to 215 million more patients with depression or anxiety, 234 million more hypertensive patients, 3.4 million more cancer patients and 6.6 million more heart attacks.

The study authors also predict 11.2 million more people affected by type 2 diabetes, 12.5 million more people with coronary heart disease, and an increase in dementia in 15.2 million more patients.

The report analyzes current policies to encourage physical activity in 194 countries and concludes that progress is too slow, with only 50% of them having such programs (and of these, less than 40% actually work).

Only 40% of the countries studied have road networks that offer safety to cyclists or facilitate physical exercise in public places. In 28% of cases, national policies to stimulate physical activity have funding problems.

Just over half of the countries have developed awareness campaigns to increase physical exercise or have organized mass events in this regard during the last two years, although the covid pandemic paralyzed many of these initiatives.

27% of adults in the world do not do the 150 minutes of exercise per week recommended by the WHO, and this percentage increases to 31% in women, while it drops to 25% in men.

“Although the situation is improving, it is more common for boys and men to engage in sports and outdoor activities, while women have a harder time staying physically active,” said WHO specialist Juana Willumsen.

Cultural barriers also weigh, making the Middle East one of the regions where the gap between the sexes is greatest, although it is also large in Latin America, where 34% of men do not perform the recommended physical activity while the percentage in women rises to 43.7%.

At the press conference, Finland was cited as a model country in terms of exercise promotion policy: “In it, the coordination, monitoring, financial resources and implementation programs in schools and health networks are really showing results,” said Bull . EFE

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