According to the most recent WHO data, half of Indians do not engage in physical exercise, with women engaging in less activity than males.
According to a concerning trend, 31% of individuals worldwide are physically inactive, but in India, this percentage jumps to 49.4%, followed by 45.7% in Pakistan. In contrast, Nepal’s 8.2 percent and Bhutan’s 9.9 percent respectively have substantially lower inactivity rates.
According to recent WHO statistics released in the medical journal The Lancet Global Health, India’s prevalence of inadequate physical activity has skyrocketed from 22.3% in 2000 to 49.4% in 2022, another concerning trend.
The study indicates that 59% of Indian people will not engage in the recommended amount of physical exercise by 2030 if present trends continue. Research has indicated that a sedentary lifestyle raises the risk of mental illness, weight gain, poor physical and cognitive performance, and non-communicable illnesses.
This indicates that since they engage in less physical activity, Indians are more likely to be physically unfit and have a higher risk of developing heart attacks, strokes, type 2 diabetes, dementia, cancer, and hypertension, among other non-communicable illnesses.
According to the study, not engaging in at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity each week, or an equal combination, constitutes inadequate physical activity. The study was conducted by academic colleagues and WHO experts, and it was published in the journal The Lancet Global Health.
HEART DISEASE AND CANCER CANADA’S LOST OPPORTUNITY: WHO CHIEF
The research showed that South Asia (45%) and the high-income Asia Pacific area (48%) had the greatest rates of physical inactivity. Conversely, inactivity rates in other areas ranged from 14% in Oceania to 28% in wealthy Western nations.
According to data, in 2022, around 1.8 billion adults globally, or almost one-third (31%) of all adults did not engage in the recommended amounts of physical exercise. According to the WHO press release dated June 26, the results show a concerning trend of physical inactivity among adults, which has climbed by almost 5 percentage points between 2010 and 2022.
The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, stated, “These new findings highlight a lost opportunity to reduce cancer and heart disease, and improve mental health and well-being through increased physical activity.” “To reverse this worrying trend, we must reaffirm our commitment to raising physical activity levels and prioritizing bold action, including strengthened policies and increased funding.”
According to data, women are still more likely than men to be physically inactive worldwide, with 34% of women and 29% of males being inactive. According to the press release’s analysis of the data, “In certain countries, this difference is as much as 20 percentage points.” “In addition, older adults are less active than other adult populations, which emphasizes the significance of encouraging physical activity for this population.”
