WMA 12.2 physical activities

THE WORLD MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, INC.
L’ASSOCIATION MEDICALE MONDIALE, INC
ASOCIACION MEDICA MUNDIAL, INC
Centre International de Bureaux
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France E-mail address : wma@wma.net France
71st
World Health Assembly
12.2 Physical activity for health;
Honourable Chairperson, Distinguished Delegates,
Thank you for the opportunity to speak on behalf of World Medical Association (WMA), which
represents more than 9 million physicians worldwide.
We welcome the draft global action plan on physical activity for the period 2018-2030. As, the
number of people with non-communicable diseases (NCD) is increasing, national health policies
should be focused more on the risk factors for NCDs and physical inactivity is one of the most
important. We hope that this global action plan will encourage member states to take this issue fully
into consideration.
We would like to remind member states that healthy lifestyle behaviours are interconnected and that
it requires a better protected environment as well. Promotion of healthy diets as well as caring for
the environment should be included in the member states’ intersectoral physical activity policies. To
give an example, global action plan on physical activity should be developed in coordination with
other strategies to combat obesity.
Monitoring the progress of the program is key. The existing indicators on prevalence of insufficient
physical inactivity need solid data collection by coordinated and well-trained teams with in an
ideally physician led primary health care system.
We will be glad to see a fixed percentage of national budget for development of primary &
preventive healthcare infrastructure and for promotion of healthy lifestyles.
The World Medical Association strongly believes that health care systems should provide the
means that physicians can offering their patients weight control strategies and nutritional
counselling where appropriate. In addition to that, physician should lead prevention by being role
models and maintaining own personal health.
The World Medical Association encourages physicians to become community advocates for
positive social determinants of health and for sustainable prevention practices.
Thank you for your kind attention