Physical Activity Down Worldwide

Whereas encouragement as leisure-one physical activity is a common global theme, researchers from the University of North Carolina (North Carolina, USA), report that physical activity levels are dropping around the world, led by declines in occupational activity. This decreased evidently corresponds to changes in the types of jobs people are doing, mechanization, and use of computers, and is expected to continue over the next few decades. Shu Wen Ng and colleagues analyzed data in five countries – the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Brazil, and India, finding that activity levels at the workplace have fallen in recent years. In the US, total physical activity dropped from 235 metabolic equivalent (MET) hours in 1965 to 160 in 2009, and is projected to decline to 126 by 2030.