Physical inactivity is responsible for up to 8% of non-communicable diseases and deaths worldwide

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-03/b-pii032521.php

 

News Release 29-Mar-2021
The impact per person is greatest in high-income countries, but more people are affected in middle-income countries
BMJ

 

The health implications of physical inactivity are truly a global issue with physical inactivity responsible for up to 8% of non-communicable diseases and deaths across the world, finds research published online in British Journal of Sports Medicine.

It is in high-income countries that physical inactivity has the greater relative impact on non-communicable disease and death (in terms of increased risk to the average person), but it is middle-income countries that have the greatest number of people affected by physical inactivity and face the biggest strain on health resources.

Physical inactivity is a known risk factor for premature mortality and several non-communicable diseases, including coronary heart disease, stroke, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and several cancers.

Levels of physical inactivity increase according to the income levels of countries, and in 2016 levels of physical inactivity in high-income countries were estimated to be more than double those in low-income countries.


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Physical inactivity was defined as less than 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity per week.

The calculations show that the proportions of non-communicable diseases attributable to physical inactivity ranges from 1.6% for hypertension to 8.1% for dementia. Population-level, prevalence-based population attributable risks increase with countries' income levels and are more than two times higher in high-income countries than they are in low-income ones.

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