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One-third of adults do not exercise enough
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
Almost a third of all adults do not get enough physical activity, posing a growing threat to health worldwide, a major study has found.
More than 31 percent of adults — 1.8 billion people — will not reach the recommended level of physical activity in 2022, up five percentage points since 2010, according to a study by the World Health Organization (WHO) and other researchers.
“Physical inactivity is a silent threat to global health, contributing significantly to the increasing burden of chronic diseases,” said Rüdiger Kretsch, Director of the WHO Department of Health Promotion.
"Unfortunately, the world is moving in the wrong direction," he said at an online press conference.
To stay healthy, WHO recommends that all adults get at least 150 minutes a week of moderate physical activity, which could include walking, cycling or even doing household chores, or at least 75 minutes of more intense exercise, such as running or participating in competitive sports.
A combination of these two types of activity will also allow you to achieve the required level.
Lack of physical activity increases the risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, some cancers, and mental health problems, Krech noted.
If current trends continue, the level of physical inactivity among adults is projected to rise to 35 percent by 2030, according to a study published in The Lancet Global Health.
This would be well below the WHO target of reducing physical inactivity by 15 per cent by the end of the decade.
Fiona Bull, head of the WHO's physical activity department, said the study was "a wake-up call that we are not doing enough".
"Every step matters"
Inactivity rates vary widely between countries. For example, 66 percent of adults in the United Arab Emirates do not get enough physical activity, while in Malawi the figure is less than three percent.
There is also a gender gap. Almost 34 percent of women worldwide do not reach the required level of activity, compared with 29 percent of men.
There are many reasons for the overall decline in activity levels, including people walking less, working more on computers and generally spending more free time looking at screens, Bull said.
During a busy few months of global sporting events, including the Olympic Games and European Championships and the Copa America, Krech reminded people that “watching sports does not equal physical activity.”
"Don't just sit in chairs, get up and be active - every step counts," he said.
WHO stressed that changing individual behaviour is not enough, calling on countries to promote physical activity by increasing support for community sports, as well as walking, cycling and using public transport.
For this study, called the most comprehensive on the topic, an international team of researchers pooled the results of more than 500 studies involving 5.7 million people from 163 countries and territories.
Not all the news was bad.
Nearly half of countries have made progress over the past decade, and 22 countries are on track to meet the 2030 target – provided they continue to move in the right direction.