According to a report, nearly 500 million new cases of diseases such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension and dementia will occur globally by 2030 if governments do not take urgent steps to encourage more people to exercise regularly. The reference is mainly made to those countries where national health services have been put under pressure by the pandemic. The World Health Organization said the cost of failing to get people moving would be about $ 27 billion a year. “There are few areas in public health … where the evidence for required action is so compelling, convenient and practical,” according to the WHO’s first global physical activity report, noting that regular exercise reduces 20-30% risk of premature death.
However, despite the clear benefits, implementation of policies to encourage more exercise has been “slow and erratic,” with the result that progress in self-care has been negligible, the report reads. ‘One consequence of this’ inaction’ is that already strained health systems are burdened with preventable diseases today and even more so in the future, and communities fail to reap the broader social, environmental and economic benefits associated with more people who are more active ”add the WHO. If the situation does not change, the body predicts that by 2030 there will be nearly 500 million new cases of preventable noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as type 2 diabetes, stroke, dementia, depression and some cancers. More than 40% of these will occur in low- and middle-income countries. Nearly half of these new cases of noncommunicable diseases would result from hypertension and 43% from depression, the report said, released Tuesday. WHO said around 7-8% of all cases of cardiovascular disease, depression and dementia could be prevented if people were more active.
Looking at data from 194 countries, the report found that less than half of them had a national physical activity policy, of which less than 40% were operational. Exercise levels in young children, especially 30% in many countries, are not monitored. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, called on governments to implement policies to intensify physical activity and thereby reduce the pressure on health systems. “We need more countries to increase policy implementation to help people be more active through walking, cycling, sports and other physical activities. The benefits are enormous, not only for the physical and mental health of individuals, but also for societies, environments and economies, ”he said.