Malaysia is the 10th laziest nation in the world!
Malaysia turned out to be the most slothful nation by far
in Southeast Asia, scoring 61.4% on the inactive index versus Cambodia's
11.2%, Myanmar's 12.7%, Vietnam's 15.3%, Thailand's 19.2%, Philippines'
23.7% and Indonesia's 29.8% . Perhaps due to its small size,
neighboring Singapore was not on the survey of 122 countries grading about 89% of the world's population.
Malaise
Malaysia
has long been accused of malaise and apathy and this has in the past
been attributed to the hot and humid weather in the country and a lack
of educational opportunities for the large rural population. But with
the advent of air-con and national access to free education at primary
schools, these are clearly mere excuses.
Malaysia's malaise has been blamed for the country's inability to
compete against other countries, prompting decades of affirmative-action
economic policies that in hindsight have worsened the situation and
spawned generations of youths who believe that it is the government's
duty to owe them a living.
Laziness now "pandemic"
Renowned medical journal, The Lancet, had released a hefty series of studies on the growing worldwide health problem, inactivity, which has now been elevated to “pandemic” status.
Taking into account 122 countries around the globe – about 89% of the
world’s population – the researchers determined the inactivity rate of
each population, and then looked at the situation for men and women
singly.
The study defined inactivity as not doing five 30-minute sessions of
moderate activity, three 20-minute sessions of vigorous activity, or 600
metabolic equivalent minutes per week.
Women more inactive than men
Asian powerhouses China scored 31% and India 15.6%. The United States - still considered the world's leading economy despite current financial woes - came out 46th.
According to Forbes, the good news is that the U.S. is not among the
most inactive countries. The bad news is that inactivity still accounts
for as many deaths globally as does tobacco use, and that’s a lot of
preventable deaths.
As is the case for many of the nations analyzed, the situation is worse
for U.S. women, with 47% being inactive, vs. only 33.5% of men.
The take-home message from the series is that about a third of people
across the world do not meet the minimum activity recommendations (which
is generally about 2.5 hours of moderate activity per week).
But countries vary greatly, with Malta topping the inactive list at
71.9%, and Greece faring best in the European Region, at 15.6%. The
situation is worse for adolescents (ages 13-15) across the globe, of whom about 80% fall into the inactive category.
TOP 20
1 – Malta: 71.9% inactive
2 – Swaziland: 69.0% inactive
3 – Saudi Arabia: 68.8% inactive
4 – Serbia: 68.3% inactive
5 – Argentina: 68.3% inactive
6 – Micronesia: 66.3% inactive
7 – Kuwait: 64.5% inactive
8 – Britain: 63.3% inactive
9 – United Arab Emirates: 62.5% inactive
10 – Malaysia: 61.4% inactive
11 – Japan: 60.2% inactive
12 – Dominican Republic: 60.0% inactive
13 – Namibia: 58.5% inactive
14 – Iraq: 58.4% inactive
15 – Turkey: 56.0% inactive
16 – Cyprus: 55.4% inactive
17 – Italy: 54.7% inactive
18 – Ireland: 53.2% inactive
19 – South Africa: 52.4% inactive
20 - Bhutan: 52.3% inactive
4th leading cause of death
At heart, the issue is not an aesthetic one. Experts estimate that 5.3
million deaths worldwide are the result of inactivity, which is about
the same number attributed to tobacco use, making the situation seem
even more grave. The World Health Organization (WHO) says that physical inactivity is the fourth leading cause of deaths due to non-communicable diseases worldwide.
The researchers point out that the publication of the studies at the time of the summer Olympics is “not a coincidence. Although the world will be watching elite athletes from many countries compete in sporting events
requiring tremendous training, skill, and fitness, most spectators will
be quite inactive.” They hope that the timing of the series, along with
Olympic excitement, will propel people into action. Literally.
And there’s another element of irony to our growing inactivity that
shouldn’t be overlooked. Advances designed to make our lives easier and
more enjoyable have made us less mobile. Not only do they contribute to
the inactivity pandemic, but they may have the grimmer effect of
shortening our lives.
As the authors put it, “Several behavioural and environmental factors, and megatrends
(major forces in societal development that affect people’s lives)
affect population levels of physical activity. Rapid urbanisation,
mechanisation, and increased use of motorised transport could have
caused global changes in physical activity.”
Getting back to basics, like walking
or bicycling to work, would help the situation markedly, say the
researchers. They calculate, for example, that if all of Denmark’s
non-cycling population suddenly hopped on bicycles regularly, about
12,000 deaths per year would be avoided. Of course, there’s an important
intersection between outdoor activity
and environmental concerns, particularly cyclist safety and park
safety, which can significantly affect our odds of engaging in healthy
activities.
1.5 hours per week can extend lifespan by 3 years
If people are put off the by idea of thought of the recommended 150
minutes of moderate activity per day (like brisk walking), at least we
can take solace in the fact that even less activity offers a benefit: Getting just 1.5 hours per week can extend lifespan by three years.
Tracking physical activity is notoriously difficult, and because of the
range of activity level within each country can be wide, getting a
handle on what’s going on even within a given country can be difficult.
Though the studies seem expansive, for about a third of countries in the world, there exists no data on physical activity, mainly countries in central Asia and “those of low and middle income in Africa.”
Striking, the authors say, is the divide between where the studies are
done and where disease occurs. Closing the gap in which there exists no
data is critical for getting a handle on people’s habits, lifestyles,
and activity levels, or lack thereof.
Auckland University associate professor, Ralph Maddison, who studies
physical activity, wasn’t surprised by the figures. New Zealand had
scored 50% in The Lancet survey.
“I think the need to be physical active every day has diminished due to multiple factors,” Madison said.
“Our environment has changed in terms of where we live. We drive a lot more, people spend more time in leisure-based activities, like watching television, and we also have more sedentary jobs.”
SOURCE: LANCET
Inactivity defined as not meeting any of the following criteria: (a) 5 x 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity per week; (b) 3 x 20 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity per week; (c) an equivalent combination achieving 600 metabolic equivalent-min per week. | ||||
