The World Health Organization released its inaugural Global status report on physical activity to chart the progress across the world in efforts to achieve their global target of a 15% relative reduction in the prevalence of physical inactivity by 2030. Unfortunately, the report shows that there is much more work to be done and that in some cases, countries have fallen behind.
As citizens we should all be concerned because “A consequence of this “inaction” is that already stretched health systems are burdened with preventable disease today and even more so in the future, and communities fail to benefit from the wider social, environmental, and economic benefits associated with more people being more active.”
WHO has four strategic objectives that we can contribute towards both as fitness professionals and as taxpayers:
- Active Societies
- Active Environments
- Active People
- Active Systems
We can make a difference by understanding how we play a key part in their achievement. You can read the global status report or download the shorter executive summary and action plan here.
We know that regular physical activity has protective benefits against non-communicable diseases and mental health; let’s keep spreading that message in our communication and marketing by speaking less about the bodies we sculpt and more about the lives we save!
The Canadian fitness industry supported by the Fitness Industry Council of Canada (FIC) is working to enable more physical activity. FIC aims to work with both industry and government to improve the health and physical activity levels of Canadians. As Vice President of FIC, I can share that we continue to ask the federal and provincial health authorities to develop protocols that include physical activity as a key part of health care.
I’d love to hear your ideas and insights as to how we can get engaged and involved in hitting global physical activity targets; please share by replying below!
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