Of the major health concerns in the United Arab Emirates and across the region, physical inactivity was addressed during the two-day “High Level Regional Forum in a Life Course Approach to Promoting Physical Health” in Dubai this week. Having one of the highest rates of physically inactive people in the world, the region also sees increasing rates of diseases such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
Everyone should incorporate physical activity in their every-day lives in order to improve their general health and reduce the risk of developing potentially lethal diseases. The Eastern Mediterranean Region reports the second highest level of physical inactivity, next to the Americas, with the worse results in inactivity in women and younger adults aged 15-29. The region consists of the UAE, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, Afghanistan, Oman, Pakistan, Djibouti, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Libya, Morocco, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. In these countries, one in two women, as well as one in every three men, is insufficiently active. The results come from data by the World Health Organization and were announced at the high-level forum in Dubai, held Monday to Tuesday and organized in collaboration with Ministry of Health of the UAE.
Many regional health experts, ministers of health, education, sports, youth and transport took part in the forum. They discussed the increasing concern of physical inactivity in the region and looked for new, effective ways to reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases through physical activity. According to WHO data, 6% of global deaths are result from physical inactivity. Inactivity also causes up to 25% of all breast and colon cancers, 27% of diabetes, and around 30% of heart disease. According to a 2013 co-study of the WHO and their regional office, the challenges that stand in the way of more than half of the EMR countries for promoting physical activity among the population, include:
Weak political will and support, which leads to inadequate national integrated policy and strategies,
- Lack of funding, cultural norms and beliefs,
- Low quality of physical education in the schools,
- Misunderstanding of what physical activity really is,
- High turn-over of leaders and human resources qualified to promote physical activity
According to Kuwait professor Dr. Jassem Ramadan Alkandairi, physical activity must be a priority for both individuals and institutions, as there is a huge misconception in the region of what physical activity may include. Besides running, fitness training and sports, people can be physically active by doing simple every-days tasks like walking, cycling, dancing, and even doing household chores. According to WHO EMR Office, many concepts and approaches for engaging in effective health education and promotion activities and not well understood. Besides focusing on lifestyle and individual behavior, doctors, experts and governments should be working together to integrate physical activity promotion in the education and sports curricula, urban planning and design, transportation systems, community activities and primary healthcare.
