Physical activity
May 2007
Physical inactivity - a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD):
- It increases the risk of developing heart disease by 1.5 times,1 partly because it raises the likelihood of developing significant CVD risk factors:
o It doubles the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.2
o It significantly raises the risk of obesity.3
o It raises the risk of high blood pressure; one study showed that unfit women have up to a 55% greater chance of developing high blood pressure than a moderately fit woman of the same age.4
o Physical inactivity is also linked to blood clots and abnormal levels of fat in the blood.5
- Nearly a quarter of all global ischemic heart disease (IHD) is related to physical inactivity.6
Benefits of physical activity
- Being physically active protects against CVD.7
- Children should have 60 minutes of at least moderate intensity physical activity each day as a minimum.8 This level of physical activity reduces the risk of inappropriate weight gain.8
- Adults should have at least 30 minutes of moderate activity daily.
- The longer one exercises the greater the benefits: 2 hours of exercise a week raises the good fats in the blood, thus protecting the heart.9
- Moderate activity includes brisk walking, bicycling, vacuuming, gardening, or anything else that causes small increases in breathing or heart rate.10
- Vigorous activity includes running, aerobics, serious gardening, or anything else that causes large increases in breathing or heart rate.10
The changing face of humans’ physical activity
- World wide, more than 60% of adults do not engage in sufficient levels of physical activity that are beneficial to their health.6
- Physical inactivity is more prevalent among women, older adults, individuals from low socio-economic groups, and the disabled.6
- People who live in cities are more likely to be inactive than rural inhabitants. 11 Some parents prevent their children playing outside because of fears about the safety of their urban environments.12
- Opportunities for children and adolescents to be physically active are reducing. In Europe only 3 countries offer at least 2 hours per week of physical education.6
Economic costs of physical inactivity
- Physical inactivity alone may have contributed as much as €55.76 billion to US medical costs in the year 2000.6
- In the UK physical inactivity may have contributed around €1.56 billion to medical costs in 2002.13
- In Canada physical inactivity may have contributed as much as €3.63 billion to medical costs in 2001.14
- In the US for every euro invested in physical activity there is a €3.21 saving on medical costs.6
- In Australia, for every 1% increase in adult activity levels, there is an estimated combined saving of nearly €4.26 million in potential treatment costs for heart attack, stroke, diabetes, colon cancer, breast cancer and depressive disorders.15
Individual recommendations are not enough
1 Hu FB, Willett WC, Li T, et al. Adiposity as compared with physical activity in predicting mortality among women. N Engl J Med 2004;351:2694-703.
2 Rana JS, Li TY, Manson JE, Hu FB. Adiposity compared with physical inactivity and risk of type 2 diabetes in women. Diabetes Care. 2007;30(1):53-8.
3 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Physical activity and health: A report of the Surgeon General. Centers for Disease Control. Atlanta, GA: 1996.
4 Barlow CE, LaMonte MJ, Fitzgerald SJ, Kampert JB, Perrin JL, Blair SN. Cardiorespiratory fitness is an independent predictor of hypertension incidence among initially normotensive healthy women. Am J Epidemiol. 2006;163(2):142-50.
5 Booth FW, Chakravarthy MV, Gordon SE, Spangenburg EE. Waging war on physical inactivity: using modern molecular ammunition against an ancient enemy. J Appl Physiol. 2002;93(1):3-30.
6 World Health Organization. Noncommunicable Diseases And Mental Health Noncommunicable Disease Prevention And Health Promotion. Health and Development Through Physical Activity and Sport. Geneva 2003
7 Vainionpaa A, Korpelainen R, Kaikkonen H, Knip M, Leppaluoto J, Jamsa T. Effect of Impact Exercise on Physical Performance and Cardiovascular Risk Factors. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2007;39(5):756-763.
8 British Medical Association, Board of Science. Preventing Childhood Obesity. BMA, London, 2005.
9 Kodama S, Tanaka S, Saito K, Shu M, Sone Y, Onitake F, Suzuki E, Shimano H, Yamamoto S, Kondo K, Ohashi Y, Yamada N, Sone H. Effect of Aerobic Exercise Training on Serum Levels of High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol: A Meta-analysis. Arch Intern Med. 2007;167(10):999-1008.
10 Morrato EH, Hill JO, Wyatt HR, Ghushchyan V, Sullivan PW. Physical activity in U.S. adults with diabetes and at risk for developing diabetes, 2003. Diabetes Care. 2007;30(2):203-9.
11 Weng X, Liu Y, Ma J, Wang W, Yang G, Caballero B. An urban-rural comparison of the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in Eastern China. Public Health Nutr. 2007;10(2):131-6.
12 Weir LA, Etelson D, Brand DA. Parents' perceptions of neighborhood safety and children's physical activity. Prev Med. 2006 Sep;43(3):212-7.
13 Allender S, Foster C, Scarborough P, Rayner M. The burden of physical activity-related ill health in the UK. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2007;61(4):344-8.
14 Katzmarzyk PT, Janssen I. The economic costs associated with physical inactivity and obesity in Canada: an update. Can J Appl Physiol. 2004;29(1):90-115.
15 World Health Organization / Centers for Disease Control. Collaborating Center on Physical Activity and Health Promotion, Atlanta, GA 2000.
16 EUROASPIRE II Study Group. Lifestyle and risk factor management and use of drug therapies in coronary patients from 15 countries; principal results from EUROASPIRE II Euro Heart Survey Programme. Eur Heart J. 2001;22(7):554-72.
17 Worcester MU, Stojcevski Z, Murphy B, Goble AJ. Long-term behavioral outcomes after attendance at a secondary prevention clinic for cardiac patients. J Cardiopulm Rehabil. 2003;23(6):415-22.