Global Disease Burden Attributed to Low Physical Activity in 204 Countries and Territories From 1990 to 2019: Insights From the Global Burden of Disease 2019 Study Publisher



Ammar A^{1, 2, 3} ; Trabelsi K⁴ ; Hermassi S⁵ ; Kolahi AA⁶ ; Mansournia MA⁷ ; Jahrami H^{8, 9} ; Boukhris O^{3, 10, 11} ; Boujelbane MA³ ; Glenn JM¹² ; Clark CCT¹³ ; Nejadghaderi A^{14, 15} ; Puce L¹⁶ ; Safiri S^{17, 18} ; Chtourou H^{3, 10} Show All Authors Show Affiliations
Source: Biology of Sport Published:2023

Abstract

The purpose of this investigation is to estimate the global disease burden attributable to low physical activity (PA) in 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2019 by age, sex, and Socio-Demographic Index (SDI). Detailed information on global deaths and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) attributable to low PA were collected from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. The ideal exposure scenario of PA was defined as 3000-4500 metabolic equivalent minutes per week and low PA was considered to be less than this threshold. Age-standardization was used to improve the comparison of rates across locations or between time periods. In 2019, low PA seems to contribute to 0.83 million [95% uncertainty interval (UI) 0.43 to 1.47] deaths and 15.75 million (95% UI 8.52 to 28.62) DALYs globally, an increase of 83.9% (95% UI 69.3 to 105.7) and 82.9% (95% UI 65.5 to 112.1) since 1990, respectively. The age-standardized rates of low-PA-related deaths and DALYs per 100,000 people in 2019 were 11.1 (95% UI 5.7 to 19.5) and 198.4 (95% UI 108.2 to 360.3), respectively. Of all age-standardized DALYs globally in 2019, 0.6% (95% UI 0.3 to 1.1) may be attributable to low PA. The association between SDI and the proportion of age-standardized DALYs attributable to low PA suggests that regions with the highest SDI largely decreased their proportions of age-standardized DALYs attributable to low PA during 1990-2019, while other regions tended to have increased proportions in the same timeframe. In 2019, the rates of low-PA-related deaths and DALYs tended to rise with increasing age in both sexes, with no differences between males and females in the age-standardized rates. An insufficient accumulation of PA across the globe occurs together with a considerable public health burden. Health initiatives to promote PA within different age groups and countries are urgently needed. © 2023 Institute of Sport. All rights reserved.