‘€œThe role of physical inactivity continues to be undervalued despite robust evidence of its protective effects being available for more than 60 years and the evident cost burden posed by present levels of physical inactivity globally,’€ says Harold W Kohl III from The University of Texas Health School of Public Health, lead author of the paper.

‘€œThe response to physical inactivity has been incomplete, unfocused, and most certainly understaffed and underfunded, particularly compared with other risk factors for non-communicable diseases.   The effect of this tardiness has been to put physical activity in reverse gear compared with population trends and advances in tobacco and alcohol control and diet,’€ says Kohl.

Currently, national programmes to move people from sedentary lifestyles to meeting recommended levels of exercise remain very limited both in developed and developing countries. Although nearly three quarters of WHO member states have a plan to tackle physical inactivity, only 55 percent of these plans are operational, and just 42 percent are both funded and operational.

Much work needs to be done to address physical inactivity as a true public health issue, say Kohl and colleagues. ‘€œSubstantial improvements in the infrastructure of planning and policy, leadership and advocacy, workforce training and surveillance must be realised.’€

‘€œTraditional public health approaches, where responsibility for change has resided with the health sector, will not be sufficient,’€ they add. Physical inactivity is an issue that crosses many sectors and will require collaboration, coordination, and communication with multiple partners (e.g. city and community planners, transport engineers, school authorities, recreation and parks officials, and the media).

They argue for capacity building to be prioritised across multiple sectors of influence including health, transport, sport, education, and business, adding that ‘€œthis is of particular importance in countries with low-to-middle incomes, where rapid economic and social changes are likely to reduce the domestic, work, and transport-related physical activity demands of daily life. Improved understanding of what works best in these nations will be key to developing national policies and action plans.’€

Finally, the authors say that a systems-based approach to address the population-level causes of inactivity rather than efforts focused on individual health will be key to increasing physical activity worldwide.

Source: The Lancet