Insufficient physical activity
Insufficient physical activity increases the risk of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes - all leading causes of premature death.
The Global Health Observatory
Explore a world of health data
Appears in:
WHO / Patrick Brown
Common, preventable risk factors underlie most noncommunicable diseases. Most noncommunicable diseases are the result of four particular behaviours (tobacco use, physical inactivity, unhealthy diet, and the harmful use of alcohol) that lead to four key metabolic/physiological changes (raised blood pressure, overweight/obesity, raised blood glucose and raised cholesterol).
Summary findings
Obesity
1 in 8
people worldwide were living with obesity in 2022
Hypertension
1.3 billion
adults had hypertension as of 2019
NCD risk factors and conditions
NCD conditions: Diabetes
NCD conditions: Hypertension
-
Hypertension among adults aged 30-79 years (%) -
Hypertension: diagnosis coverage among adults aged 30-79 with hypertension (%)
-
Hypertension: treatment coverage among adults aged 30-79 with hypertension (%)
-
Hypertension: effective treatment coverage (controlled hypertension) among adults aged 30-79 with hypertension (%)
-
Hypertension: raised blood pressure (uncontrolled hypertension) among adults aged 30-79 years (%)
NCD risk factors: Cholesterol
NCD risk factors: Harmful use of alcohol
-
Alcohol, total per capita (15+) consumption (in litres of pure alcohol) (SDG Indicator 3.5.2)
-
Alcohol, unrecorded per capita (15+) consumption (in litres of pure alcohol), three-year average
-
Alcohol, recorded per capita (15+) consumption (in litres of pure alcohol), by beverage type
-
Alcohol, recorded per capita (15+) consumption (in litres of pure alcohol), three-year average
NCD risk factors: Insufficient physical activity
-
Physical activity, insufficient, among adults aged 18+ years, prevalence (age-standardized estimate) (%)
-
Physical activity, insufficient, among adults aged 18+ years (crude estimate), prevalence (%)
-
Physical activity, insufficient, among school going adolescents aged 11-17 years (crude estimate), prevalence (%)
NCD risk factors: BMI
-
Overweight among adults, BMI >= 25, prevalence (crude estimate) (%)
-
Overweight among adults, BMI >= 25, prevalence (age-standardized estimate) (%)
-
Obesity among adults, BMI >= 30, prevalence (crude estimate) (%)
-
Obesity among adults, BMI >= 30, prevalence (age-standardized estimate) (%)
-
Underweight among adults, BMI < 18.5, prevalence (crude estimate) (%)
-
Underweight among adults, BMI < 18.5, prevalence (age-standardized estimate) (%)
-
Overweight among children and adolescents, BMI > +1 standard deviations above the median, prevalence (crude estimate) (%)
-
Obesity among children and adolescents, BMI > +2 standard deviations above the median, prevalence (crude estimate) (%)
-
Thinness among children and adolescents, BMI < -2 standard deviations below the median, prevalence (crude estimate) (%)
Related health topics
Related publications
24 September 2018
Noncommunicable diseases country profiles 2018
At the First and Second UN High-level Meetings on Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) in 2011 and 2014, the World Health Organization released Country...
14 November 2013
Global action plan for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases 2013-2020
The WHO Global NCD action plan 2013–2020 follows on from commitments made by Heads of State and Government in the United Nations Political Declaration...
Related web pages
Noncommunicable Diseases Data Portal
Users can explore the data below by country, accessing detailed information on noncommunicable diseases and their key risk factors
Related teams
Noncommunicable Diseases, Rehabilitation and Disability
We are responsible for leading, coordinating and monitoring global action to cover additional people with health services, medicines, vaccines, diagnostic and health technologies for the prevention, screening, early diagnosis and appropriate treatment of cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes. We aim to advance health equity for persons with disabilities, we have a focus on sensory impairments and bring together the work on rehabilitation from across the departments and from the 3 levels of the organization.
Noncommunicable Disease Surveillance, Monitoring and Reporting
The main objective of the Surveillance, Monitoring and Reporting unit is to support the collection, analysis, and dissemination of country-level risk factor information to inform and improve public health policy.