According
to a WHO study, Africans, Uganda and Mozambique at the top of the list,
get far more exercise than especially some Arab nations.A quarter of the
world’s adults are doing too little exercise, putting them at risk of
cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, dementia, and some cancers – and there
has been no improvement over the past 15 years.This is according to a global
study conducted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) published in The Lancet Global Health journal this week, that looked
at exercise rates in 2016 and compared them to 2001.Africa is world’s healthiest continent
by far and Uganda then Mozambique world’s healthiest countries measured by how
active adults are, finds study in Lancet medical journal. That to change as
more Africans are able to drive cars not walk & have desk jobs https://t.co/koMnxPu2k2 pic.twitter.com/F1mXbmOqRg
—
James Hall (@hallaboutafrica) September
16, 2018
Mozambicans and
Ugandans doing fine
In
four countries, more than half of adults did not get enough exercise in 2016:
Kuwait (67%), American Samoa and Saudi Arabia (both 53%), and Iraq (52%).
Kuwait and Samoa have some of the highest obesity rates in the world.In
contrast, Mozambicans and Ugandans were the most likely to get enough exercise,
with only 6% reporting less than the recommended exercise of at least 150
minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity every
week.
According
to the survey, “country-specific, age-standardised prevalence of insufficient
physical activity in 2016 ranged from 5·5% (4·0–7·6) in Uganda to 67·0%
(58·6–74·3) in Kuwait”.
“In
four countries, the prevalence of insufficient physical activity was more than
50% (Kuwait, American Samoa, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq), whereas the prevalence
was lower than 10% in seven countries (Uganda, Mozambique, Lesotho, Tanzania,
Niue, Vanuatu, and Togo),” it adds
“In
2016, around one in three women (32%) and one in four men (23%) worldwide were
not reaching the recommended levels of physical activity to stay healthy,”
according to the study.
The
study, based on self-reported activity levels from 358 population-based surveys
in 168 countries covering 1.9 million participants, noted that there had been
no improvement in exercise rates since 2001.“Unlike other major global health
risks, levels of insufficient physical activity are not falling worldwide, on
average, and over a quarter of all adults are not reaching the recommended
levels of physical activity for good health,” said the study’s lead author, the
WHO’s Dr Regina Guthold.
China making great
progress
Women
were less active than men in all regions of the world, apart from east and
southeast Asia.There were large differences in activity between women and men
in many countries, such as Bangladesh (40% vs. 16%), India (44% vs. 25%), Iraq
(65% vs. 40%), Philippines (49% vs. 30%), South Africa (47% vs. 29%), and the
USA (48% vs. 32%).China has made the most progress in promoting physical
activity, but in high income Western countries, there has been an increase of
5% in people doing insufficient activity.“Regions with increasing levels of
insufficient physical activity are a major concern for public health and the
prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs),” says Guthold.Although
a recent NCD policy survey showed that almost three quarters of countries
report having a policy or action plan to tackle physical inactivity, few have
been implemented to have national impact, according to the researchers.The
study’s release comes ahead of the Third United Nations High Level Meeting on
NCDs and their risk factors, including physical inactivity, being held on 27
September 2018 in New York. – Health-e News.
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