New Delhi: Recent research estimates that the world could see close to half a billion new cases of major chronic diseases by 2030 if people don’t get more active. Regular physical activity helps to prevent and manage many chronic diseases. Physical inactivity is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide. It’s also associated with chronic illness and disability. Popular ways to be physically active include walking, cycling, and playing sports.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that children and adolescents (5-17 years old) get an average of at least 60 minutes per day of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity. This should incorporate vigorous aerobic activities, as well as those that strengthen muscle and bone, at least three days a week. It’s also recommended that children spend no more than two hours a day on recreational screen time. These recommendations aim to improve children’s physical and mental health, as well as cognitive outcomes.
Physical inactivity in children and adolescents has become a global public health priority after the pandemic. It is now included in global action plans.
Children’s Health
Using 2016 as a baseline, the WHO through its Global Action Plan on Physical Activity targeted a 15 percentage point reduction in the prevalence of physical inactivity among adolescents by 2030. It also implored other international organisations and governments to help track progress in physical activity promotion among children and adolescents.
In response to this global physical inactivity crisis, the international call to action, and the need to systematically collect comparable data, the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance recently published a major study, the first to provide a comprehensive assessment of physical activity among children and adolescents. Published in October 2022, the study included data that were collected before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. They were among the 682 experts who assessed 10 common physical activity indicators for children and adolescents around the world.
Their study shows physical activity among children and adolescents has not gotten better. About one-third of children and adolescents globally were sufficiently physically active while a little over one-third met the recreational screen time recommendation for better health and well-being. These findings indicate that a significant proportion of children and adolescents who do not meet recommended physical activity guidelines are at an increased risk of negative outcomes as well as developing related chronic diseases at a much earlier age.
