According to a report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), lack of exercise among Europeans costs European Union countries a staggering $8 billion a year.

According to the study, more than a third of adults in the European bloc do not comply with WHO recommendations that recommend engaging in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week. Nearly half of the respondents to the latest Eurobarometer reported that they do not exercise or participate in sports.

The coronavirus pandemic has already exacerbated the low rates, with more than half of adults admitting their exercise frequency has dropped.

“The report provides evidence that investing in policies that encourage physical activity not only improves individual health but also generates economic benefits,” said Hans Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe.

“For every euro invested in physical activity, there is almost double the economic benefit of 1.7 euros,” he added.

Exercise saves lives

However, the exercises and relevant instructions to citizens are aimed not only at saving money, but mainly at saving lives.

According to the report, exercise can prevent more than 10,000 premature deaths in the European Union each year.

The same analysis showed that if everyone followed the recommended exercise guidelines, they could have been prevented. 11.5 million new cases of NCDs by 2050 in the European bloc – among them about 3.8 million cases of cardiovascular diseases, almost 1 million cases of type 2 diabetes and more than 400,000 cases of various types of cancer. And given the mental health benefits of exercise, an additional 3.5 million cases of depression could be prevented by 2050.

Of course, Europe’s physical inactivity rates are not horizontal, with the lowest rates of physical activity recorded in southern Europe, but not in Greece.

“Insufficient physical activity was extremely common in some Southern European countries, while it is less common in Northern European countries,” the report says.

The winner in the “race” exercise was Finland with its long and cold winters, followed by Sweden. While Portugal ranks first among non-sporting countries, followed by Germany, Cyprus and Italy.

Source: Politico