Sedentary lifestyle, future evil of the century? “Developed countries are no longer the only ones affected”

Lack of physical activity could cost governments dearly. According to a report by the World Health Organization (WHO) published this Wednesday, October 19, the annual cost of physical inactivity amounts to 27.4 billion dollars and 500 million new cases of preventable non-communicable diseases and diseases mental illnesses are expected by 2030. Spending related to depression, dementia and hypertension will account for about 70% of this amount. The study shows how physical inactivity is one of the evils of the century. If governments do not take urgent measures to encourage physical activity among their populations, the scourge would affect nearly one in fifteen humans.

“We need more countries to step up the implementation of policies to help people be more active through walking, cycling, sports… The benefits are huge, not just for health physical and mental health of individuals, but also for societies, the environment and the economy,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of WHO. Growing obesity, poor diets and lack of physical activity are growing concerns, with 81% of adolescents and 27% of adults not achieving recommended levels of physical activity and healthcare costs are skyrocketing.

It is therefore urgent to carry out a global policy which acts on “the systemic problem” of physical inactivity, insists Professor Jean-Michel Oppert, from the endocrinology and metabolism department of the Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital. “Diseases linked to inactivity are not only reserved for rich societies. They are the prerogative of all countries now”, notes the doctor. For L’Express, he returns to the mechanisms that prevent the onset of obesity or cardiovascular disease, and highlights the solutions provided by the WHO study.

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L’Express: How can physical inactivity be the cause of chronic diseases such as diabetes?

Jean-Michel Oppert : Physical inactivity, which begins below a weekly threshold of 150 minutes of moderate physical activity, is associated with pathologies and a host of non-communicable diseases. Not being active promotes the onset of diabetes, cardiovascular disease or obesity. On the contrary, physical activity stimulates the immune system and acts on infections. As we saw with Covid-19, overweight people were more likely to contract severe forms of the virus, and even to die.

It is therefore an effective preventive agent…

Yes, especially since it is very interesting to observe that activity plays a role in the management of non-communicable diseases. Sport helps the sick. Physical activity is essential for regulating diabetes, and it’s important when you have a heart condition too. It has also been proven that physical activity contributes to the non-recurrence of breast cancer.

The WHO study also refers to the fact that these diseases weigh on health systems. They will cost 27 billion euros per year by 2030…

What weighs on health systems are chronic diseases. The interest of this report is its global scale. The pressure caused by NCDs affects all hospitals. In developing countries, these pathologies are growing and becoming central in the same way as infectious diseases. In the so-called more developed countries, the improvement of treatments and conditions of access to care mean that chronic diseases take a considerable part.

Diseases related to inactivity are therefore not only reserved for wealthy societies. With the transformations of developing countries, we observe a change in the organization of work and urbanization that lead to changes in lifestyle and disrupt physical activity. It is therefore vital to think about another distribution of working time to encourage activity.

Precisely, what should be done to increase physical activity and thus reduce chronic non-communicable diseases?

The report describes very well all the commitments that need to be made. There are individual and collective actions to be taken. It is the combination between the two that will reduce the occurrence of NCDs. There must be plans to generalize the activity by promoting the practice of cycling or walking.

It is also necessary to rethink the layout of several urban areas so as to facilitate travel by walking. The WHO insists on rethinking our environments and fostering the dynamism of people. The strength of this study is to focus on a systemic problem without simply presenting the individual actions to be taken.