1.4 billion risk disease from lack of exercise: WHO
PARIS (AFP) –
More than 1.4 billion adults are putting themselves at heightened risk of deadly diseases by not getting enough exercise, doctors are warning, with global activity levels virtually unchanged in nearly two decades.
With richer nations enjoying an increasingly comfortable, sedentary lifestyle, a study by the World Health Organization said a third of women and a quarter of men worldwide are in the firing line for killer conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer unless they up their physical activity.
“Insufficient physical activity is a leading risk factor for non-communicable diseases, and has a negative effect on mental health and quality of life,” said the study of world exercise levels published Wednesday by The Lancet Global Health Journal.
The WHO recommends each adult do at least 150 minutes “moderate-intensity” exercise — such as brisk walking, swimming or gentle cycling — each week, or 75 minutes “vigorous-intensity” activity — such as running or team sports.
The study tracked activity levels of 1.9 million people in 168 countries across the world during 2016.
‘Pandemic’ of inactivity increases disease risk worldwide, WHO study says
(CNN)Around the globe, about one in three women and nearly one in four men does not exercise enough to avoid common diseases, a new report shows.
At least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity each week is the recommended level for adults, according to the World Health Organization. People who do not meet this guideline are at greater risk of developing cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes, dementia and some cancers, research shows.The trend of insufficient physical activity levels worldwide is getting worse, not better, the new study published Tuesday in the journal Lancet Global Health reveals. More than a quarter of all adults — 1.4 billion people worldwide — were inadequately active in 2016, compared with 23.3% in 2010.
Best Sport for Longer Life? Tennis…
Playing tennis and other sports that are social might add years to your life, according to a new epidemiological study of Danish men and women.
The study found that adults who reported frequently participating in tennis or other racket and team sports lived longer than people who were sedentary. But they also lived longer than people who took part in reliably healthy but often solitary activities such as jogging, swimming and cycling.
The results raise interesting questions about the role that social interactions might play in augmenting the benefits of exercise.
At this point, no one doubts that being physically active improves our health and can extend our longevity. Multiple, recent epidemiological studies have pinpointed links between regular exercise and longer lives in men and women.
But whether some activities might be better than others for lengthening life spans remains in dispute. One widely publicized 2017 study of more than 80,000 British men and women found that those who played racket sports tended to outlive those who jogged.