More than a quarter of the world’s adults (1.4 billion) have greater risk of type 2 diabetes, cancer, dementia and cardiovascular disease, because they do too little physical activity according to data from the first study to estimate global physical activity trends over time. The study was undertaken by researchers from the World Health Organization (WHO) and published on 4 September in The Lancet Global Health journal.

Together, these estimates demonstrate that there has been little progress in improving physical activity levels between 2001 and 2016.

“Unlike other major global health risks, levels of insufficient physical activity are not falling worldwide, on average, and over a quarter of all adults are not reaching the recommended levels of physical activity for good health,” warns the study’s lead author, Dr Regina Guthold of the WHO, Switzerland.

The European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF) has worked with WHO and the European Commission for the last decade to bring this message to member states, cities and regions. 

“We can save 100,000 lives in Europe each year if every adult adds 15 minutes of walking or cycling,” said Dr Randy Rzewnicki, ECF’s Health Policy Officer, citing the WHO HEAT tool that shows how many people will live longer by changing their daily transport habits.

The article “Worldwide trends in insufficient physical activity from 2001 to 2016: a pooled analysis of 358 population-based surveys with 1·9 million participants” names active transport as a prime solution, and car use as a key problem.

From 2001-2016, substantial changes in insufficient physical activity levels were recorded in multiple regions. Key findings include:

• The regions with the highest increase in insufficient activity over time were high-income Western countries (from 31% in 2001 to 37% in 2016). Countries from these regions driving this trend include Germany, Italy Hungary, Portugal and UK, as well as the USA.
• There has been an increase of 5% in prevalence of insufficient activity in high-income countries, from 32% in 2001 to 37% in 2016. In comparison, there has been an average rise of just 0.2% amongst low-income countries (16.0% to 16.2%).

In wealthier countries, like Western Europe, the transition towards more sedentary occupations, recreation and motorised transport could explain the higher levels of inactivity, while in lower-income countries, more activity is undertaken at work and for transport, according to the authors. While declines in occupational and domestic physical activity are inevitable as countries prosper, and use of technology increases Governments must provide and maintain infrastructure that promotes increased walking and cycling for transport.

“Regions with increasing levels of insufficient physical activity are a major concern for public health and the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs),” says Dr Guthold.

“Almost three quarters of countries report having a policy or action plan to tackle physical inactivity, few have been implemented to have national impact. Countries will need to improve policy implementation to increase physical activity opportunities and encourage more people to be physically active” says Dr Fiona Bull, one of the co-authors of the study.