Prevention and Health

Physical inactivity is increasingly being recognised as a major problem in global health. The WHO estimates that 3.3 million people die around the world each year due to physical inactivity, making it the fourth leading underlying cause of mortal-ity.1 Physical activity has beneficial effects on 23 diseases or health conditions.2 However, in most countries fewer than half of adults are active enough to reap most of these benefits.3 4 Given that inactivity increases the risk for many of the most costly medical conditions such as type 2 dia-betes, stroke, ischaemic heart disease, falls and hip fractures, and depression, it is not surprising that physical inactivity has a substantial cost burden in addition to a large health burden