PHA-Exchange> Move for Health!

[Fawzia Rasheed]

Dear Friends

I happened to stumble into festivities for World Health Day in WHO, Geneva,
last week.  I thought you might like to see what the Director General has as
a message for the world in the year 2002.  You might also like to have a
look at some of the pictures which mark this event in headquarters.  It is a
pity I can’t show you the posters which shows people jogging and swimming
etc with the slogan ‘Move for health!’ in a variety of languages.  Here is a
site where you can see the photos of the event as well as the Director
General’s message.

Best wishes

Fawzia
************

(Please see the photos at: http://www.who.int/multimedia/whd2002/photo.html)

Physical inactivity a leading cause of disease and disability, warns WHO

Physical inactivity can have serious implications for people's health, said
the World Health Organization today on the occasion of World Health Day.
Approximately 2 million deaths per year are attributed to physical
inactivity, prompting WHO to issue a warning that a sedentary lifestyle
could very well be among the 10 leading causes of death and disability in
the world.

World Health Day is celebrated annually on April 7 and used to inform the
public about leading public health issues. By choosing physical activity as
the theme for World Health Day, WHO is promoting healthy, active and
tobacco-free lifestyles. The aim is to prevent the disease and disability
caused by unhealthy and sedentary living.

Sedentary lifestyles increase all causes of mortality, double the risk of
cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and obesity, and increase the risks of
colon cancer, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, lipid disorders, depression
and anxiety. According to WHO, 60 to 85% of people in the world-from both
developed and developing countries-lead sedentary lifestyles, making it one
of the more serious yet insufficiently addressed public health problems of
our time. It is estimated that nearly two-thirds of children are also
insufficiently active, with serious implications for their future health.

Physical inactivity, along increasing tobacco use and poor diet and
nutrition, are increasingly becoming part of today's lifestyle leading to
the rapid rise of diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, or
obesity. Chronic diseases caused by these risk factors are now the leading
causes of death in every part of world except sub-Saharan Africa, where
infectious diseases such as AIDS are still the leading problem. These
chronic diseases are, for the most part, entirely preventable. Countries and
people could save precious lives and health care resources by investing in
preventing these diseases, says WHO.

"The habit of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, including regular exercise
and a nutritious diet ideally begins in childhood and we hope that parents
and schools everywhere will use this day to spread this message," said Dr
Gro Harlem Brundtland, WHO's Director-General. "We should all be ready to
move for health and to adopt healthy and active lifestyles. World Health Day
2002 is a call to action to individuals, families, communities governments
and policy-makers to move for health," she added.

Among the preventive measures recommended by WHO are moderate physical
activity for up to 30 minutes every day, tobacco cessation, and healthy
nutrition. In addition to individual lifestyle changes, governments and
policy makers are also recommended to "move for health" by creating a
supportive environment for people. Among the measures recommended:
implementing transportation policies that make it safer for people to walk
and ride bicycles; legislating tobacco-free public buildings and spaces;
building accessible parks, playgrounds and community centres; and promoting
physical activity programmes in schools, communities and health services.