Inactivity Could Be the Cause of as Many Deaths Worldwide as Smoking
Recent research suggests that inactivity goes hand-in-hand with smoking and obesity in terms of the rising risk for disease and mortality.
On July 18, research papers were published in a series called The Lance, in which researchers studied the sedentary-related deaths of 5.3 million people worldwide since 2008. This number is roughly equal to the number of people who die from breast and colon cancer, Type 2 Diabetes and heart disease.
The study also found that one in three adults are 30 percent more likely to develop a disease because they do not participate in physical activity 150 minutes per week (the recommended amount by public health authorities).
In an interview with HealthDay, Michael Pratt, the leader of the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention said, "With the high prevalence of both physical inactivity and the rapid growth of the mobile phone sector in low-income and middle-income countries, there is the potential for population-level effects that could truly affect global health."
We know that a sedentary lifestyle is toxic to the wellbeing of girls. GoGirlGo!, our educational program launched in 2001 for elementary, middle and high school girls, works across the country to keep girls involved in physical activity and to improve the health of sedentary girls. One in three girls is sedentary, while the other gets no more than thirty minutes of physical activity a week. By getting girls active at a young age, we can decrease their chances of becoming a sedentary adult, which we now know leads to disease and mortality.