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Phisical exercise saves almost 4 millions of lifes around the world 

  29/06/2020 19:59


Benefits for phisical exercise health are well known, but a new research recently published in The Lancet Global Health puts you in numbers. And it does so in a year in which the COVID-19 pandemic has locked up a very high percentage of the world population in their home under some type of quarantine which implies a decrease in physical activity.

This new research by scientists from the Universities of Cambridge and Edinburgh has analyzed data from 168 countries and concluded that among those who practice physical exercise, the risk of dying prematurely is reduced by 15%. That means, in global numbers, that we get to save at leat 3,9 millions of lifes each year.

The team analyzed the physical activity data for each country in the terms in which the World Health Organization (WHO) establishes its recommendations, which are 150 minutes a week of moderate physical activity or 75 minutes if it is intense (or the combination equivalent). Activity data were combined with the relative risk of dying prematurely among people with activity versus those without.

In Spain, with the data from 2013, the study puts the number of deaths that physical exercise avoids each year at 19,300 and estimated the percentage of active people at 73%, a rate that fell to 65% among those who had died prematurely.

The rate varied, the researchers reported, from 33% in Kuwait to 64% in the UK or 94% in Mozambique. Despite the variations between countries, the contribution of physical activity remains stable worldwide, according to the research.

The percentage of deaths prevented varied between sexes and levels of wealth in the country. With an average of 15%, the percentage was higher for men (16%) than for women (14%). The rate also varied with a higher incidence in countries with low income (18%). The rate also varied with a higher incidence in low-income countries (18%) than in high-income countries (14%).

Specifically, in Europe the percentage of deaths prevented through physical activity was 14.6%, 13.8% in women and 15.5% in men. In numbers, 619,900 premature deaths avoided each year thanks to physical activity.

And one of the objectives of this team of researchers is precisely to focus on what physical exercise achieves rather than talking about the risks of sedentary lifestyle. "Lifestyle studies look at the detriments health habits have such as lack of physical activity, unhealthy diets, alcohol, or tobacco," Paul Kelly, a researcher at the University of Edinburgh Physical Activity and Health. "We believe in the value of understanding the benefits of healthy behaviors to encourage them to be maintained and increased," he adds.

In a comment published in the same issue of The Lancet, the professor at the Brazilian University of Pelotas, Pedro C. Hallal, recalls that the prevalence of physical inactivity in the world was 27.5% in 2016 and that « the estimated mortality from the cause is similar to that observed for tobacco ”.

Exercises to meet WHO goals

While the new normal is making its way after the coronavirus crisis, the researchers collect some of the exercises that can be carried out to achieve compliance with the WHO's objectives.

Go for a daily walk.

Go for a bike ride or run.

Do stretching exercises or yoga for muscles and joints.

Activity in green spaces or parks and activity with others can have additional benefits for mental and social health.

Join an online exercise session.


Source: Munideporte

Publication date: 4 de octubre de 2019

Website: https://www.elindependiente.com/vida-sana/salud/2020/06/18/el-ejercicio-fisico-salva-cada-ano-casi-cuatro-millones-de-vidas-en-el-mundo/


More information:

New Health Foundation
www.new-health.eu
info@new-health.eu

AEDESA
https://www.aedesa.org/
info@aedesa.org

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AEDESA

Asociación Europea Deporte, Ejercicio y Salud