Lack of exercise can cost global governments $27bn a year by 2030, WHO warns

A new report suggests that the lack of exercise and healthy physical activities can cost governments around the world more than $27 billion per year. According to the data provided by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the cases of diabetes, dementia and high blood pressure is expected to skyrocket by the year 2030 and that will increase the budget for health services massively.

The data also showed that regular exercise can end up reducing health risks by almost 30 per cent.

In the report, WHO urged the governments to actively encourage the citizens to adopt a healthy lifestyle in order to stop the growth of such diseases. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, the healthcare costs have risen around the world and the trend is expected to continue in the future.

“There are few areas in public health … where evidence on required action is so convincing, cost effective and practical,” the global report published by WHO stated.

“A consequence of this ‘inaction’ is that already stretched health systems are burdened with preventable disease today and even more so in the future, and communities fail to benefit from the wider social, environmental and economic benefits associated with more people being more active.”

While the advantages of exercise and physical activities are quite clear, the WHO noted that governments have not paid much attention to raising awareness. The situation is considerably worse in low-income countries where the standard of living is low and there is a lack of proper healthcare.

Among the 194 countries included in the report, WHO found that less than 50 per cent have a clear national policy when it comes to healthy living, but it is not fully functional in all of those countries.