The pandemic of physical inactivity Essay 5
The pandemic of physical inactivity Essay 5
Reflect on the concepts and practices you have learned in NR506 on healthcare systems, politics, and health policy. Read the article that is linked below and share insights as how to make informed decisions on nursing practice and patient outcomes on a global basis. In addition, state how you will apply what you have learned in this course to your upcoming practicum experience.
Read the article by:
Kohl, H.W., Craig, C. L., Lambert, E.V., Inoue, S., Alkandari, J.R., Leetonngin, G., & Kahlmeier, K. (2012). The
pandemic of physical inactivity: Global action for public health. The Lancet, 380(9838), 294-305. doi:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(12)60898-8. Link to article (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
A systems approach to dealing with the global concern of physical inactivity is discussed.
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The pandemic of physical inactivity: global action for public health Harold W Kohl 3rd, Cora Lynn Craig, Estelle Victoria Lambert, Shigeru Inoue, Jasem Ramadan Alkandari, Grit Leetongin, Sonja Kahlmeier, for the Lancet Physical Activity Series Working Group*
Physical inactivity is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide. We summarise present global eff orts to counteract this problem and point the way forward to address the pandemic of physical inactivity. Although evidence for the benefi ts of physical activity for health has been available since the 1950s, promotion to improve the health of populations has lagged in relation to the available evidence and has only recently developed an identifi able infrastructure, including eff orts in planning, policy, leadership and advocacy, workforce training and development, and monitoring and surveillance. The reasons for this late start are myriad, multifactorial, and complex. This infrastructure should continue to be formed, intersectoral approaches are essential to advance, and advocacy remains a key pillar. Although there is a need to build global capacity based on the present foundations, a systems approach that focuses on populations and the complex interactions among the correlates of physical inactivity, rather than solely a behavioural science approach focusing on individuals, is the way forward to increase physical activity worldwide. The pandemic of physical inactivity Essay 5
The pandemic of physical inactivity should be a public health priority Theoretically, prioritisation for public health action is informed largely by three factors: the prevalence and trends of a health disorder; the magnitude of the risk associated with exposure to that disorder; and evidence for eff ective prevention and control. A practice or behaviour that is clearly related to a health disorder, is prevalent, and is static or increasing in its prevalence should be a primary target for public health policy for disease prevention and health promotion. Too often, however, the inertia of tradition, pressure from special interest groups, media attention, and other external forces can overcome this approach.
Available data suggest that 31% of the world’s popu- lation is not meeting the minimum recommendations for physical activity1 and, in 2009, the global prevalence of inactivity was 17%.2 Despite promising positive trends in leisure-time (discretionary) physical activity in some countries, incidental, transportation-related, and occu- pational physical activity prevalences are falling.3–6 The global challenge of physical inactivity is further amplifi ed by the risk it conveys. Lee and colleagues7 presented persuasive evidence that 6–10% of all deaths from non- communicable diseases worldwide can be attributed to physical inactivity, and this percentage is even higher for specifi c diseases (eg, 30% for ischaemic heart disease).8 In 2007, 5·3–5·7 million deaths globally from non- communicable diseases could have theoretically been prevented if people who were inactive had instead been suffi ciently active. Most of these eff ects of physical inactivity are not mediated through body composition. Finally, several approaches have acceptable eff ectiveness for increasing physical activity across diff erent ages, social groups, and countries worldwide.9 In view of the prevalence, global reach, and health eff ect of physical inactivity, the issue should be appropriately described as pandemic, with far-reaching health, economic, environ- mental, and social consequences.
Moreover, the associated morbidity of health disorders related to inactivity, including health-related quality of life as well as direct and indirect economic costs, exerts a substantial burden on societies and health systems. For example, annual direct health-care costs range from US$28·4 to $334·4 per head in Australia,10 UK,11 and Switzerland12 and, including indirect costs, from $154·7 to $418·9 per head in Canada13 and the USA.14 The magnitude of economic implications of physical inactivity is diffi cult to compare at present, and a more in-depth global analysis is needed.
Key messages
• The high prevalence of physical inactivity, its harmful health and environmental consequences, and the evidence of eff ective physical activity promotion strategies, make this problem a global public health priority The pandemic of physical inactivity Essay 5
• Physical activity and public health is a new discipline, merging several areas of specialisation including epidemiology, exercise and sport science, behaviour science, and environmental health science, among others; these diff erent areas are needed to tackle the global pandemic of physical inactivity because multidisciplinary work is essential
• Early development of the discipline has been largely opportunistic and, as a result, physical activity has usually been coupled with other public health agendas and is often not a fully recognised, standalone, public health priority
• Capacity building, workforce training, and intersectoral approaches are needed in all regions for physical activity research, practice, policy, and advocacy and education
• A systems approach to physical activity beyond a reliance on behavioural science needs coordinated changes at the individual, social and cultural, environmental, and policy levels; building of intersectoral action is particularly needed in countries with low-to-middle incomes, where the unintended consequences of development might negatively aff ect transport-related, household, and occupational physical activity