10,000+ steps. The finding is instructive: 95% of the population is exposed to a risk of health deterioration due to lack of physical activity and/or too long sitting time. In other words, only 5% of adults have enough physical activity to be protective. This is one of the conclusions of an expertise of theNational Health Security Agency (ANSES) on the lack of physical activity and sedentary lifestyle among adults, made public on Tuesday 15 February.
These figures are taken from the scientific literature and data from the individual and national study on food consumption (INCA3) collected in 2014-2015, from 1,305 adults aged 18 to 64 in France, so there are several years. But the situation has not changed. “Unfortunately, the situation has worsened,” notes Professor Irène Margaritis, head of the Nutrition Risk Assessment Unit at ANSES, who coordinated the report.
To measure physical activity, studies focus on cardiorespiratory activity (running, cycling, walking at a good pace, etc.), muscle work (fitness, tennis, swimming, etc.) and flexibility (yoga, gymnastics, etc.) . “Women are at greater risk of lack of physical activity, with 70% of them falling below all levels of activity identified for good health”, points to ANSES.
Risk of premature mortality
Lack of activity is currently considered the fourth leading risk factor for premature mortality, according to the World Health Organization, which estimates that 3.2 million deaths are attributable to inactivity each year worldwide. Insufficient activity is a risk factor for many chronic diseases: cardiovascular, respiratory, metabolic, certain cancers, etc.
As for sedentary lifestyle (time spent in front of a screen, sitting at work, in transport, etc.), it reaches an average of seven hours a day, according to this work. More worryingly, this time exceeds eight hours a day for 38% of adults, with those under 45 and adults with low levels of education being the most affected. In question, screen time.
Gold, “the literature shows that from eight hours, the risks increase by 12% for general mortality, by 22% for the risk of cardiovascular death, by 25% for depression”, points out Irene Margaritis. Another data: a sixth of the population presents a 45% higher risk of cardiovascular mortality simply because he watches too much television, still alerts ANSES. Worrying, these findings on screen time are aggravated by the health crisis and its successive confinements.
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