‘Step up! Tackling the burden of insufficient physical activity in Europe’ is the title of the latest report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The key message of this report is as follows:
‘Physical activity is one of the most important things you can do to improve your physical and mental health. It helps prevent a whole range of diseases and conditions, such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. It improves mental health and the ability to learn and think.’
Unfortunately, far too many Europeans still lead a sedentary life and hardly move:
- One in three European adults does not meet the WHO guideline of at least 150 minutes of physical activity per week.
- Almost half of Europeans never play sport or exercise.
- The COVID pandemic also had a negative impact: many people say they move less than before as a result of the COVID measures.
The report shows that measures that encourage physical activity not only improve individual well-being and health, but also benefit the economy. Every euro invested in physical activity returns almost double (€1.70) to the economy, according to Hans Kluge, WHO director.
If all of us in the 27 EU countries did at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week, this would produce the following results:
- The life expectancy of people who are insufficiently active would rise by 7.5 months.
- Average life expectancy would rise by 2 months.
- More than 10,000 premature deaths would be prevented every year.
- €14 per capita would be saved on medical expenses, a total saving of €8 billion per year.
- Health expenditure would fall by 0.6% in total.
- Over the next thirty years, 11.5 million non-communicable diseases would be avoided, including 3.5 million cases of depression, 3.8 million cases of cardiovascular disease and 400,000 cases of cancer.
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