MOTION
INACTIVITY TIME BOMB
Inactivity costs the European countries more than 80 billion euro each year. BY LARS ANDERSSON, TEAM TEKSTWERK One out of four adults in Europe is not moving enough – and it costs. According to the International Sport & Culture Association (ISCA) inactivity in the European Union is causing 500,000 deaths each year – and the bill for society is around 80 billion euro. These costs could be avoided if all Europeans were to achieve an average of 20 minutes per day of simple and inexpensive activities such as walking or running. Even interventions to bring just one-fifth of currently inactive Europeans up to the recommended levels of regular activity would yield benefits worth up to 16.1 billion euro. “Within a few decades, physical inactivity has become one of the leading risks to European citizens’ wellbeing and a growing challenge for European societies. We strongly believe it is time to respond to and act on our knowledge of physical inactivity as a pressing social issue in Europe. It is high time to defuse the inactivity time bomb and get Europe moving again,” Mogens Kirkeby, president of ISCA, says. READ MORE: www.isca-web.org/english/
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SPORT EXECUTIVE
PROPORTION OF MEN AND WOMEN WHO ARE INSUFFICENTLY ACTIVE: UNITED KINGDOM: Males: 32 Females: 42 ITALY: Males: 28 Females: 38 SPAIN: Males: 27 Females: 34 FRANCE: Males: 19 Females: 29 GERMANY: Males: 19 Females: 24 POLAND: Males: 14 Females: 24 EU-28: Males: 22 Females: 30 Per cent.