The COVID-19 epidemic which compelled the whole world to stay at home for months has shown the importance of an active lifestyle. More than 5 million death could have been saved if the global population has taken seriously the benefits of an active lifestyle. This led to the launch of the new WHO Guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour launched on 27th November 2020. WHO Guidelines encouraged everyone irrespective of age to be physically active as every type of movement counts.
A recommendation of at least 150 to 300 minutes was made by the new guidelines for moderate to vigorous aerobic activity per week for all adults, including people living with chronic conditions or disability, and an average of 60 minutes per day for children and adolescents.
According to WHO statistics one in every four adults, and four out of five adolescents, do not get enough physical activity. Globally this is estimated to cost US$54 billion in direct health care and another US$14 billion to lost productivity.
Pregnant women are encouraged to maintain regular physical activity throughout pregnancy and post-delivery. People living with disabilities are not left with the valuable health benefits of physical activity.
Physical activity helps in improving health condition while reducing the risk of developing several diseases like type 2 diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease. It also reduces symptoms of depression, anxiety, cognitive decline. Physical activity can have immediate and long-term health benefits like improving memory and boosting brain health. Most importantly, regular activity can improve your quality of life.
“Being physically active is critical for health and well-being – it can help to add years to life and life to years,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “Every move counts, especially now as we manage the constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic. We must all move every day – safely and creatively.”
Physical activity comes in different forms as part of work, sport and leisure or transport (walking, wheeling and cycling), but also through dance, play and everyday household tasks, like gardening and cleaning.
“Physical activity of any type and any duration can improve health and wellbeing, but more is always better,” said Dr Ruediger Krech, Director of Health Promotion, World Health Organization, “and if you must spend a lot of time sitting still, whether, at work or school, you should do more physical activity to counter the harmful effects of sedentary behaviour.”
“These new guidelines highlight how important being active is for our hearts, bodies and minds, and how the favourable outcomes benefit everyone, of all ages and abilities”, said Dr Fiona Bull, Head of the Physical Activity Unit which led the development of the new WHO guidelines.
WHO encourages countries to adopt the global guidelines to develop national health policies in support of the WHO Global action plan on physical activity 2018-2030. The plan was agreed by global health leaders at the 71st World Health Assembly in 2018 to reduce physical inactivity by 15% by 2030.
