Physical Inactivity
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Introduction[edit | edit source]
The World Health Organization (WHO) determined that approximately 31% of adults over 15 years old and over were insufficiently active in 2008, with males being slightly more active than females (28% vs. 34% inactive, respectively). Inactivity was highest in the Americas and Eastern Mediterranean, where almost 50% of women were insufficiently active in both these regions. 40% of men were found to be insufficiently active in the Americas, whereas in the Eastern Mediterranean, in was determined to be 36%. South East Asia showed the lowest percentages of physical inactivity, that being 15% for men and 19% for women. In almost all countries, WHO found that men were more active than women.[1]
Approximately 3.2 million deaths each year are attributable to insufficient physical activity.[1]
Sedentary Behaviour[edit | edit source]
Sedentary behaviour refers to any waking activity characterized by an energy expenditure ≤ 1.5 metabolic equivalents and a sitting or reclining posture. In general this means that any time a person is sitting or lying down, they are engaging in sedentary behaviour. Common sedentary behaviours include TV viewing, video game playing, computer use (collective termed “screen time”), driving automobiles, and reading.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name cannot be a simple integer. Use a descriptive title
Environmental Factors[edit | edit source]
Urbanization[edit | edit source]
Increased urbanization has resulted in numerous environmental factors which may discourage individuals from participating in physical activity, such as:[1]
- violence
- high-density traffic
- low air quality, pollution
- lack of parks, sidewalks and sports/recreation facilities
Early Years[edit | edit source]
Sedentary behavior can occur in 4 areas of children’s lives—education/school/child care, transport, self-care/domestic chores, and leisure/play. For school-aged children, a main “occupation” is being a student and the majority of the school day is spent sitting. Homework also contributes to additional sitting time. Transport time is usually highly sedentary with children sitting in buses, trains and cars to get to and from school and other destinations. Sedentary self-care tasks include eating and some grooming. Leisure and play sedentary behaviors include reading from a book or an electronic screen. There are a number of ways by which sedentary behaviors may influence child health and development, including disrupted metabolism, limited neuromuscular activity, prolonged/awkward postures or repetitive motions, socioemotional experiences, cognitive experiences, and other mechanisms such as influencing sleep quality.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name cannot be a simple integer. Use a descriptive title
