Almost a third (31%) of the world's adults, approximately 1.8 billion people, did not meet recommended levels of physical activity in 2022, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which warns of harmful effects.

The data, published in the journal The Lancet Global Health, shows an increase of around five percentage points between 2010 and 2022 in physical inactivity among adults, a trend that the WHO considers worrying because it "increases the risk of diseases" such as cardiovascular disease, heart attacks and strokes, type 2 diabetes, dementia and cancers such as breast and colon cancer.The WHO said in a statement that if the upward trend continues, inactivity levels could rise to 35% by 2030.

"This new data highlights a missed opportunity to reduce cancer, heart disease and improve mental wellbeing through increased physical activity," says WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, quoted in the statement, calling for strengthened policies and increased funding "to reverse this trend".

The highest rates of physical inactivity were observed in the high-income region of Asia-Pacific (48%) and South Asia (45%), with levels of inactivity in other regions ranging from 28% in high-income Western countries to 14% in Oceania, according to the study.

The WHO is concerned about the persistence of gender and age disparities, with physical inactivity being more common among women around the world compared to men, with inactivity rates of 34% compared to 29%, with this difference reaching 20 percentage points in some countries.

The study also shows that people over 60 are less active than other adults, with the WHO stressing the importance of promoting physical activity for the elderly.

"Physical inactivity is a silent threat to global health, contributing significantly to the burden of chronic diseases," highlights the WHO's Director of Health Promotion, Rüdiger Krech.

Despite the worrying results, the study shows that almost half of the world's countries have made improvements over the last decade, and that 22 countries have been identified as being on track to reach the global target of reducing inactivity by 15% by 2030. (NMinuto)