The World Health Organisation (WHO) has revealed that a quarter of the world’s population is at increased risk of many life-threatening diseases.
The report is a result of a study that monitored the physical activity of 1.9 million people across 168 countries, including Ireland.
The study found that 23% of people globally aren’t doing enough exercise — and are leaving themselves at a heightened risk for heart and artery disease, Type 2 diabetes, dementia, and some cancers.
In four territories (Kuwait, American Samoa, Saudi Arabia and Iraq), as many as half of all adults were found to be dangerously inactive.
Globally, 27·5% of respondents to the huge survey were not doing enough — 23.5% of men and 31% of women.
For high-income western countries, a category that includes Ireland, average insufficient activity was more than a third, clocking in at 36.8% (31.2% for men and 42.3% for women). The best performing country was Finland and the worst performing country was Cyprus.
The WHO suggests “at least 150 min of moderate-intensity, or 75 min of vigorous-intensity physical activity per week, or any equivalent combination of the two)”.
The study was published in the Lancet Global Health Journal.
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