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WEDNESDAY, Sept. 5, 2018 (HealthDay News) – Sofa Potatoes Take Note: A sedentary lifestyle has put more than a quarter of the world's adults at risk for serious illness, according to a new study.
More than 1.4 billion adults are at a higher risk for heart disease, diabetes, dementia and some types of cancer because their physical activity is inadequate, the researchers concluded. World Health Organization (WHO).
The researchers analyzed the results of hundreds of surveys conducted among 1.9 million adults aged 18 and older in 168 countries.
In 2016, nearly a third of women and a quarter of men in the world did not reach the recommended levels of physical activity to stay healthy, the researchers found. Weekly guidelines require at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity or 75 minutes of intense physical activity.
The study was published on September 4 The Lancet Global Health.
"Unlike other major global health risks, levels of poor physical activity are not decreasing worldwide and more than a quarter of adults do not achieve the recommended levels of physical activity for good health. ", said lead author Regina Guthold. Press release.
Women were less active than men in all parts of the world, except in East and South-East Asia.
The increase in the already low level of physical activity among men and women was particularly worrying. Insufficient physical activity increased by 5% in high income countries and only increased by 0.2% in low income countries.
The shift to more sedentary occupations and motorized transportation in richer countries could help explain higher levels of inactivity, according to the researchers.
It is important that governments provide infrastructure that promotes more walking and cycling at work and active sports and recreation, they noted.
Eliminating unequal levels of physical activity between men and women will be key to achieving global business goals, said study co-author Fiona Bull. And this will require efforts "to promote and improve women's access to safe, affordable and culturally acceptable opportunities," she said.
Melody Ding, a researcher from the University of Sydney in Australia, has authored an accompanying editorial. In this document, she said that in some parts of the world, women face more environmental, social and cultural barriers to participate in physical activities.
These restrictions probably contribute to overall low activity levels. In Saudi Arabia and Iraq, for example, more than half of adults were not active enough, according to the study.
In comparison, about 40% of US adults and 36% of British adults had too few activities.
In addition, "although high-income countries have a higher prevalence of insufficient physical activity, it is important to note that low- and middle-income countries still bear the brunt of the global burden of child labor. 39, physical inactivity, "wrote Ding.
More information
The US National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute offers a guide to physical activity.
SOURCE: The Lancet Global Health, press release, September 4, 2018
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