Half of Indian adults physically inactive, as per WHO standards
According to a report from Lancet Global Health, half of India’s adult population does not meet the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) standards for sufficient physical activity.
India ranks 12th among 195 countries in terms of the prevalence of insufficient physical activity, the study revealed.
The prevalence of insufficient physical activity among adults in the country increased from 22.3 per cent in 2000 to 49.4 per cent in 2022, with women being more inactive than men – 52.6 per cent against 38.4 per cent.
Researchers warned that if this trend continues, about 59.9 per cent of adults in India will be unfit by 2030 and at significant risk of disease due to insufficient physical activity.
Additionally, the report noted that nearly one-third of adults globally – approximately 1.8 billion people, or 31 per cent – did not meet the recommended levels of physical activity in 2022.
The highest rates of inactivity were observed in the high-income Asia-Pacific region, which was 48 per cent and South Asia, which was 45 per cent. In high-income Western countries, the rate of inactivity in 2022 was 28 per cent, while it was 14 per cent in Oceania.
Insufficient physical activity puts adults at a greater risk of cardiovascular diseases like heart attack and stroke as well as diabetes, dementia, and breast and colon cancers.
“The global estimate of the cost of physical inactivity to public health care systems between 2020 and 2030 is about $300 billion (approximately $27 billion per year) if levels of physical inactivity are not reduced,” the WHO said on Wednesday.
The WHO has recommended at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate aerobic activity every week — or equivalent vigorous activity — across the adult population.
Physical activity has been defined by the global body as any “bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that requires energy expenditure”, which includes movements during leisure time or as part of an individual’s work or domestic activities.
