This is a statement delivered by the World Heart Federation at the WHO Executive Board Meeting (EB145) on Agenda Item 21: Well-Being and Health Promotion.
We thank WHO for the report and commend the focus on building healthy ecosystems for healthy people.
Physical inactivity is one of the most significant risk factors across NCDs. It increases relative risk of coronary artery disease, stroke and hypertension by 45%, 60% and 30% respectively. Almost 500 million new cases of preventable NCDs will occur globally between 2020 and 2030 due to physical inactivity, costing just over US$300 billion.
We therefore urge the WHO to address physical inactivity in its health and well-being implementation and monitoring plan, and we encourage Member States to implement the policy recommendations presented in the WHO’s Global Action Plan on Physical Activity and the 2023 World Heart Federation policy brief, “More People, More Active, More Often for Heart Health”, available on our website, to reduce ill effects of physical inactivity and foster healthier, more resilient populations by increasing physical activity.
