Nearly 500 million sick by 2030 due to physical inactivity
The WHO estimates the cost of diseases due to physical inactivity might reach 27 billion francs in 2030 worldwide.
Children should get at least one hour of physical activity every day, according to the WHO. (illustrative image)
KEYSTONE/GAETAN BALLY
Nearly 500 million people will suffer from obesity or non-communicable diseases by 2030, without more physical activity. The costs will reach 27 billion dollars (regarding 27 billion francs) per year, warned Wednesday in Geneva the WHO which calls for “urgent” action.
Adults should get at least two and a half hours of physical activity per week and children one hour per day. But, according to data from 194 countries, progress on this issue is slow and uneven across regions. Authorities must establish policies, says the World Health Organization (WHO).
Less than half of the countries have them. Among them, 40% are not operational and some of them are not even funded. Less than a third of states have launched guidelines for all age groups. And the same share monitors the activity of the under 5s.
“Huge” benefits
“More countries need to implement policies to help people be more active,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. The benefits are “enormous”, for individuals but also for society and the economy, he added.
The pandemic has stagnated the initiatives taken by the authorities. It has increased inequalities in access to opportunities for physical activity. For its part, the report calls on States to make more efforts for data and to make these activities a tool in the face of non-communicable diseases. The goal is to reduce physical inactivity by 15% by 2030.
“This is an important report at an important time,” a WHO official told reporters. The pandemic has shown “the importance of physical activity for health”, she says once more. And with the 300 billion costs estimated in the coming years, the different countries might finance the supervision of a million new doctors.
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