The global cost of physical inactivity
1 October 2022
A new report published by the World Health Organization highlights that the cost of treating new cases of preventable non-communicable diseases (NCDs) will reach nearly US$ 300 billion by 2030.
The World Health Organization recently published The Global status report on physical activity 2022, measuring the extent to which governments are implementing recommendations to increase physical activity across all ages and abilities.
Data from 194 countries show that overall progress of implementation of the recommended policies of PA is slow and uneven.
If governments don’t take urgent action to encourage more physical activity among their populations, by 2030 almost 500 million people will develop heart disease, obesity, diabetes or other noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) attributable to physical inactivity, costing globally around US$300 billion.
The report highlights significant gaps in both policy making and policy implementation, as well as in global data to track progress on important policy.
The development and implementation of policies to increase levels of physical activity would prevent disease and reduce burden on already overwhelmed health care systems.
“The benefits are huge, not only for the physical and mental health of individuals, but also for societies, environments, and economies”.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
Today more than one in four adults and more than 80% of adolescents do not meet WHO’s recommended levels of physical activity for optimum health.
The global target is of a 15% reduction in the prevalence of physical inactivity by 2030.
For more information:
WHO highlights high cost of physical inactivity in first-ever global report
