WHO Completes Second Draft of Physical Activity Report
The draft is prepared for submission to the Executive Board in January 2018. "Given physical activity's contribution towards the 2030 Agenda, it is time to invest in physical activity not only for its direct health benefits but for how increasing walking, cycling, active recreation and sports leads to realising a more equitable, sustainable and prosperous world," it says.
The World Health Organization has posted a second draft of its physical activity for health discussion paper so it can be submitted to the organization's Executive Board in January 2018. The document says the board endorsed the idea of drafting an action plan on physical activity that builds on existing guidelines for preventing noncommunicable diseases and other recommendations.
The plan was developed through a worldwide consultation process and a WHO internal steering committee., with the process engaging a total of 83 Member States, international sports associations, health and sport medicine organizations, institutes of public health, the private sector, and more. It says a total of 125 written submissions were received from stakeholders and helped to inform the second draft.
The most recent available global estimates from 2010 are that 23 percent of adults worldwide and 81 percent of adolescents do not meet the WHO Global Recommendations on Physical Activity for Health, although the prevalence of inactivity varies considerably within and between countries, it states. And the draft ays the societal costs of physical inactivity in direct health costs alone are about $54 billion, with another $14 billion attributable to lost productivity.
"Given physical activity's contribution towards the 2030 Agenda, it is time to invest in physical activity not only for its direct health benefits but for how increasing walking, cycling, active recreation and sports leads to realising a more equitable, sustainable and prosperous world," it says.