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Pan American
Journal of
Public Health

Increased Physical Activity Called Priority for Americas

Washington, DC, December 9, 2003 (PAHO)—Just 30 minutes a day of moderate physical activity can lower or even eliminate the risk of cardiovascular diseases, type-2 diabetes, osteoporosis, and colon and breast cancers, according to a Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) journal article.

The latest edition of PAHO’s Pan American Journal of Public Health says that even though these benefits have been widely publicized and people are aware of them, the fact is that sedentary lifestyles are prevalent in most of the urban areas of the Americas, where 60 percent of the population lives.

According to data compiled in 24 countries of the Americas, more than half of the population is considered as being inactive or physically idle. That is, they do not follow the recommended 30 minutes-a-day of some kind of physical activity – five days a week.

This edition is devoted exclusively to the issue of exercise and physical activity and contains a series of five articles and four current reports about this topic.

Moderate but regular physical activity can also reduce stress, alleviate depression and anxiety, encourage self-esteem and improve mental awareness. Moderate physical activity includes such things as going up and down stairs, walking at a fast pace or riding a bicycle as part of a daily routine.

According to the PAHO publication, this lack of physical activity is one of the key risk factors that explain the epidemic proportions of non-communicable diseases. In its report about global health in 2002, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that 76 percent of all deaths in the Americas were due to non-communicable diseases. That same year, about 119,000 people in Latin America died as a result of sedentary lifestyles. Many of the effects of those diseases can be reduced through exercise.

In several countries of the Americas, the percentage of their population at risk due to a lack of physical activities is almost 60 percent. This situation is even worse among persons over 60 years of age – an age group that represents the highest population growth rate in Latin America and the Caribbean. And it is precisely this age group that has the highest incidences of non-communicable diseases.

Four countries lead in research on this issue: Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Peru, and the results are included in the PAHO publication. Each study shows scientifically the huge advantages of physical activity for better health.

Two notable examples of good health promotion, the program Agita São Paulo and the initiative Vida Chile, are highlighted, and the publication also refers to the need for greater epidemiological monitoring and for more data in order to design policies to encourage physical activity.

Data were available for only four countries in Latin America. "Unfortunately, if there are not adequate data to inform practice and policy, then physical inactivity will continue to be regarded as an issue of sports and recreation rather than a major public health risk factor requiring concerted action from all sectors of government and society at large," said an editorial written by Dr. Enrique Jacoby, of PAHO’s Nutrition Unit; Fiona Bull, of the University of Western Australia, and Andrea Neiman, of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The editorial makes clear that the need to encourage physical activity as a component of health must begin with childhood, and that the physical and social environment influences levels of activity. "With no access to safe outside areas for recreation and with many school systems downplaying physical education, children are likely to spend more time in sedentary pursuits such as watching television and playing video games," they said.

According to recent studies, active schoolchildren usually also have a higher academic performance, and a better sense of personal and social responsibility than their more sedentary classmates.

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) was established in 1902 and is the world’s oldest public health organization. PAHO works with all the countries of the Americas to improve the health and quality of life of its people. PAHO serves as the Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization (WHO).

PAHO Member States today include all 35 countries in the Americas. France, the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland are Participating States. Portugal and Spain are Observer States. Puerto Rico is an Associate Member.