This high-income region has the least active people globally, WHO report shows

It’s no secret that leading a healthy life requires getting consistent and sufficient exercise, but globally, many adults are lacking in this department.

Nearly a third of the global adult population, or about 1.8 billion people, did not hit their recommended levels of physical activity in 2022, according to a June 2024 report by the World Health Organization.

As per WHO standards, 150 minutes of moderate-intensity, 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity, or the equivalent of physical activity per week is recommended for adults.

The highest prevalence of physical inactivity was seen in the high-income Asia-Pacific region (48%), which includes South Korea, Japan and Singapore. This is followed closely by the South-Asia region (45%), which includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

“Asia is about 30% of the world’s population, but we carry almost 50% of the world’s disease burden. We have more diabetics, we have more cancer patients, we have more cardiovascular patients than anywhere else in the world,” said Abrar Mir, co-founder of Quadria Capital, on “Squawk Box Asia” on Monday.

Women on average showed higher physical inactivity (34%) compared to men (29%). This gap was most pronounced in the South-Asia region, where physical inactivity among women was 14 percentage points higher than in males, according to the report published in The Lancet Global Health journal.

“The levels of physical activity are determined by a suite of factors,” said Fiona Bull, head of WHO’s physical activity unit. These include personal motivation, availability of time, as well as social and environmental factors such as the habits of those around us or even the region’s temperature and climate.

“Women have multiple roles. They still take on the largest share of family and home care, which can mean they have less time, [especially if they] are also working,” said Bull.

“And of course, for some populations, particularly women and older adults … it can be cultural and societal values,” said Bull.

In children and adolescents, there can be pressure to focus on academics, leaving less time to exercise, according to Bull, and some of these habits can follow into adulthood.

There’s no one reason why some regions and groups are more physically active than others.

The responsibility lies with the government to create the policy and commit the resources to prioritizing and promoting the health and well-being for their people, said Bull.

It is important for governments to provide the funds necessary to create and maintain safe, clean, well-lit and accessible public spaces for its local communities to use for exercise, she suggested.

People have generally become less active since 2000, as the prevalence for physical inactivity among adults globally in 2022 grew to 31.3%, from the recorded 26.4% in 2010 and 23.4% in 2000, according to the study which is based on 507 surveys across 163 countries and territories.

This can be partially explained by the heavy adoption of technology in recent decades.

“People work more and more on electronic devices, computers, [and are] often sedentary as they are emailing rather than having physical conversations … so we’re not traveling as much between meetings,” said Bull.

This lack of exercise puts people at a greater risk for cardiovascular diseases, cancers, diabetes, and other non-communicable diseases, which are the “leading cause of premature death in today’s world,” claiming more than 10 million lives every year, Bull said.

Being physically active can also delay the onset of dementia, according to Bull. Dementia is currently a leading cause of death among older adults, and as the global elderly population continues to grow, the number of people living with dementia is expected to reach 78 million by 2030, according to WHO. 

“Physical activity both prevents certain chronic diseases and promotes positive mental health and well-being,” said Bull. From improving mood and cognition, to boosting learning among children, getting enough physical activity is crucial for being healthy.

“The key to being more active is to do things you enjoy,” said Bull.

“I recommend everyone to have a go at new things,” she said. “In particular, for those who are in the middle years of adulthood who are recognizing they need to be more active,” finding sports that they enjoy can be very helpful in maintaining their health.

For example, a game like pickleball can be more accessible than tennis, and can be picked up by your entire family, she suggested.

“Having that support and fun that you have by being with people is a real motivation … and that will then become a habit, and then you’ll start to feel the benefits, and that will reward you to continue and do more,” she said.

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