The World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe has published a new report, "Avoidable mortality, risk factors and policies for tackling noncommunicable diseases – leveraging data for impact", offering a detailed overview of progress in the prevention of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) across Europe. The report identifies key modifiable risk factors, such as tobacco and alcohol use, air pollution, and insufficient physical activity, as major contributors to NCDs.
Regarding physical activity, the report highlights that insufficient physical activity remains a major concern. Despite some progress, inactivity levels have stagnated since 2010, and by 2022, 25% of the population still did not meet recommended activity levels. Encouragingly, 17 countries, mainly from the EU14 group, had already achieved the target for 2030 to reduce the prevalence of insufficient physical activity by 15%. However, a significant gender gap persists, with women being less active than men in 35 countries. Overall, the region is not on track to meet the 2030 target, underscoring the need to intensify efforts and scale up interventions to promote physical activity.