Wake up, Lazybones :India ranks 117th in WHO List of Lazy Countries

Wake up, Lazybones :India ranks 117th in WHO List of Lazy Countries

Do we go for 75 minutes or more of strenuous workout every day, or at least manage to put up 150 minutes of moderate exercise in a week? If even this modest activity target is not being met, then it is time to take a call, warns the World Health Organisation. The WHO list of lazy countries has come out, and it ranks India 117th among 168 countries surveyed; a full 34 percent of 130 crore Indians fail to meet the target. Globally, 23 percent of men and 32 percent women do not exercise enough. To be fair, women get to participate in fewer sports and leisure activities — when they do work out, they do it at lower intensity, experts point out. Among the laziest countries, more than half the population of Kuwait, American Samoa, Saudi Arabia and Iraq does not exercise at all. The report shows that people of poor countries are twice as active as those of rich countries — “high income countries are more inactive (37%) compared with middle income (26%) and low-income countries (16%),” it says. Thus it is that the UK is ranked 123rd while the US comes in at 143rd; the percentage of population failing to do minimum exercise is 42.4% in New Zealand, 42.2% in Germany and 41.4% in Italy. People of poorer countries have to walk longer distances and their jobs are physically more demanding, which explains why Uganda, Mozambique, Lesotho and Tanzania have the most active populations. Less physical activity at work or home, or while commuting or during leisure, comes with higher risk of poor health. Debilitating falls, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, several types of cancer and mental health conditions can make the life of the sedentary miserable, the report warns. How big is this risk in terms of numbers? According to the WHO, more than 1.4 billion adults are at risk due to inactivity. So the writing is on the wall for those in their forties, fifties or sixties. They can cite excuses like busy work schedules and hassled lifestyles only at their peril.

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