Physical inactivity has emerged as a significant public health challenge globally.
Characterised by an inability to meet the required levels of activity, physical inactivity has grown to become an issue of public health concern.
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines physical inactivity as one of the leading risk factors for deaths from noncommunicable diseases.
Data from the global health body states that insufficiently active people have a 20% to 30% increased risk of death compared to sufficiently active people.
When a person is not physically active, they tend to experience fatigue and an increased amount of stress.
Physical inactivity also clogs the mind, making you feel a lack of mental clarity.
Furthermore, prolonged physical inactivity heightens the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and even certain cancers.
It also weakens muscles and bones and ultimately, it could reduce both life expectancy and quality of life.
WHO recommendation on physical activity
The WHO guideline on Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour recommends 60 minutes of physical activity per week for children, between 150 to 300 minutes of activity for adults and older adults while 150 minutes is recommended for pregnant and nursing mothers
Data from the WHO states that one in three adults currently do not meet the required minimum standards set for physical activity.
Similarly, over 80 per cent of young people do not also have enough physical activity.
The global health body equally warns that the level of physical inactivity could increase to almost 70 per cent among the global population due to advancements in working patterns, the use of technology as well as changes in transportation systems.
Benefits of physical activity
Inculcating physical activity into our lives has tremendous benefits.
Aside from improving our overall general well-being, physical activity helps reduce our overall risk of certain non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, stroke and heart disease.
Physical activity is closely linked to improved mental health and in general, overall well-being.
The WHO states that insufficiently active people have a 20% to 30% increased risk of death compared to sufficiently active people.
When older adults remain physically active, it helps lessen the risk of all-cause mortality, the WHO says.
The global growth body adds that physical activity reduces the risk of death from cardiovascular disease, and lessens the risk of hypertension, some types of cancers, and type-2 diabetes.
Overall, staying physically active improves mental health and improves sleep in older adults.
In younger people and children, physical activity enhances physical fitness, cardiometabolic health, bone health, cognitive outcomes as well as mental health.
It also helps to reduce body fat.
For pregnant and nursing mothers, physical activity reduces the risk of pre-eclampsia, a disorder in pregnancy associated with new onset-pregnancy.
It also lessens their risks of developing gestational hypertension, gestational diabetes, and excessive gestational weight gain.
Furthermore, the chances of developing delivery complications, postpartum depression and newborn complications are lessened.
The WHO also states that physical activity has no adverse effects on birthweight or increased risk of stillbirth.
Causes of physical inactivity
Physical inactivity is growing in popularity due to a wide range of factors.
With urbanisation, more people are becoming accustomed to modern means of transportation, with many more people owning cars or motorcycles.
This can lead fewer people to embrace beneficial means of transportation such as cycling or even walking.
In addition, the advent of remote jobs makes more people susceptible to embracing sedentary lifestyles.
Many people have jobs which allow them to sit more often, be it remote or otherwise.
With the growing popularity of technology, many children now prefer to sit indoors, or in front of a phone or television instead of playing outside, a recommended means of staying active for kids.
How to combat physical inactivity
At the individual stage, it is important to recognise the importance of staying active and the dangers of a sedentary lifestyle.
We can improve our overall well-being by taking more walks, cycling or walking instead of driving using staircases instead of elevators as well as engaging in more exercise.
There is also a need for more awareness of the dangers of physical inactivity as well as the numerous health benefits of staying physically active.
