Physical Inactivity and Measurement

Physical inactivity is one of the leading risk factors for death from non-communicable disease, and insufficiently active people have a 20% to 30% higher risk of death than those who are sufficiently active.

Around a third of adults worldwide are insufficiently active, and in England about a third of adults do not meet the aerobic guideline. For the sport and exercise medicine (SEM) clinician, knowing the scale of the problem, how activity and sedentary behaviour are measured, and how activity is promoted across the health and care system is the basis for treating inactivity seriously.