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Monday, August 6, 2012

SHOCKER! Malaysia 10th LAZIEST nation in the world & the WORST in SE Asia


SHOCKER! M'sia 10th LAZIEST nation in the world & the WORST in SE Asia
Malaysia is the 10th laziest nation in the world! The shocking piece of finding came from an international study timed intentionally to coincide with the London Olympic Games.
Worse still, 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.
"It is not something to be proud of and it is time for the Health ministry to get cracking on making Malaysians more aware of where we stand instead of giving the usual excuses and denials which do no one any good. A healthy lifestyle and an active and bright mind go hand in hand. So if we are fitter, the tendency is that we won't be so lazy mentally either," PKR vice president Chua Jui Meng, a former Health minister, told Malaysia Chronicle.
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.
Leaders in Prime Minister Najib Razak's ruling Umno-BN coalition, which has been in power for 55 years, have also been quick to jump onto this 'subsidy-mentality' bandwagon resulting from the abuse and misuse of the affirmative-action policies they themselves put in place to retain political popularity and hence their grip on power.
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.
CountryRegionBoth sexes%Male%Female%
AlgeriaAfrican Region40.531.949.2
BeninAfrican Region9.17.111.2
BotswanaAfrican Region35.226.344.1
Burkina FasoAfrican Region15.514.616.3
CameroonAfrican Region40.73348.3
Cape VerdeAfrican Region20.712.129.4
ChadAfrican Region24.522.826.2
ComorosAfrican Region8.36.110.6
CongoAfrican Region48.644.452.9
Côte d'IvoireAfrican Region32.828.836.9
Dem. Rep. of CongoAfrican Region45.238.452
EritreaAfrican Region40.42654.8
EthiopiaAfrican Region19.316.522.1
GabonAfrican Region36.626.846.4
GambiaAfrican Region24.520.428.7
GhanaAfrican Region17.614.420.8
GuineaAfrican Region12.16.118.1
KenyaAfrican Region16.515.118
MadagascarAfrican Region23.318.328.3
MalawiAfrican Region10.27.313.2
MaliAfrican Region20.917.923.8
MauritaniaAfrican Region43.84047.6
MauritiusAfrican Region38.638.239.1
MozambiqueAfrican Region7.16.77.4
NamibiaAfrican Region58.551.965.1
NigerAfrican Region29.324.434.2
São Tomé and PrincipeAfrican Region1911.626.3
Sierra LeoneAfrican Region19.916.223.6
South AfricaAfrican Region52.448.456.5
SwazilandAfrican Region6965.972.1
ZambiaAfrican Region17.215.119.3
ZimbabweAfrican Region23.821.825.8
IranEastern Mediterranean 3727.147
IraqEastern Mediterranean58.462.854
KuwaitEastern Mediterranean 64.556.972.1
LebanonEastern Mediterranean 46.851.941.7
Libyan Arab JamahiriyaEastern Mediterranean 45.837.354.4
PakistanEastern Mediterranean 40.432.748.1
Saudi ArabiaEastern Mediterranean 68.861.576.2
TunisiaEastern Mediterranean 35.931.540.3
United Arab EmiratesEastern Mediterranean 62.556.168.9
AustriaEuropean Region34.830.339.2
BelgiumEuropean Region42.740.445
Bosnia and HerzegovinaEuropean Region33.630.337
BulgariaEuropean Region26.824.728.8
CroatiaEuropean Region23.626.221
CyprusEuropean Region55.448.162.6
Czech RepublicEuropean Region2527.622.3
DenmarkEuropean Region35.134.835.4
EstoniaEuropean Region17.215.718.8
FinlandEuropean Region37.840.834.9
FranceEuropean Region32.527.737.2
GeorgiaEuropean Region22.321.123.5
GermanyEuropean Region2827.528.5
GreeceEuropean Region15.616.714.5
HungaryEuropean Region2626.425.6
IrelandEuropean Region53.247.858.5
ItalyEuropean Region54.749.659.8
KazakhstanEuropean Region31.53231
LatviaEuropean Region3228.135.9
LithuaniaEuropean Region22.620.324.9
LuxembourgEuropean Region47.749.945.5
MaltaEuropean Region71.970.773.1
NetherlandsEuropean Region18.221.315.2
NorwayEuropean Region44.243.445
PolandEuropean Region27.623.531.6
PortugalEuropean Region5147.554.4
RomaniaEuropean Region38.731.246.2
Russian FederationEuropean Region20.822.718.8
SerbiaEuropean Region68.363.273.3
SlovakiaEuropean Region22.223.321.2
SloveniaEuropean Region3026.533.6
SpainEuropean Region50.247.453.1
SwedenEuropean Region44.244.144.3
TurkeyEuropean Region5649.562.5
UkraineEuropean Region18.420.416.3
United KingdomEuropean Region63.35868.6
ArgentinaRegion of the Americas68.365.870.9
BarbadosRegion of the Americas46.938.355.6
BrazilRegion of the Americas49.247.251.6
CanadaRegion of the Americas33.932.335.4
ColombiaRegion of the Americas43.939.748
DominicaRegion of the Americas24.414.334.4
Dominican RepublicRegion of the Americas605762.9
EcuadorRegion of the Americas42.63748.3
GuatemalaRegion of the Americas16.215.317
MexicoRegion of the Americas37.737.138.4
ParaguayRegion of the Americas41.340.742
Saint Kitts and NevisRegion of the Americas38.328.747.9
United States of AmericaRegion of the Americas40.533.547.4
UruguayRegion of the Americas34.12840.2
BangladeshSouth-East Asia Region4.72.76.6
BhutanSouth-East Asia Region52.340.963.6
IndiaSouth-East Asia Region15.612.718.4
IndonesiaSouth-East Asia Region29.831.528.1
MalaysiaSouth-East Asia Region61.457.365.6
MaldivesSouth-East Asia Region3936.641.3
MyanmarSouth-East Asia Region12.710.414.9
NepalSouth-East Asia Region15.513.917
SeychellesSouth-East Asia Region22.422.422.4
Sri LankaSouth-East Asia Region25.918.533.3
ThailandSouth-East Asia Region19.217.121.4
AustraliaWestern Pacific Region37.935.939.9
CambodiaWestern Pacific Region11.211.411.1
ChinaWestern Pacific Region3129.732.3
JapanWestern Pacific Region60.258.961.6
KiribatiWestern Pacific Region46.738.454.9
Lao People's Dem. Rep.Western Pacific Region18.816.721
Marshall IslandsWestern Pacific Region49.643.555.7
MicronesiaWestern Pacific Region66.358.274.4
MongoliaWestern Pacific Region9.49.39.5
NauruWestern Pacific Region46.54350
New ZealandWestern Pacific Region47.74550.4
Papua New GuineaWestern Pacific Region19.317.221.5
PhilippinesWestern Pacific Region23.721.226.2
SamoaWestern Pacific Region51.136.865.4
Solomon IslandsWestern Pacific Region43.73849.5
TongaWestern Pacific Region41.831.851.9
VietnamWestern Pacific Region15.314.615.
Malaysia Chronicle/Forbes/Guardian

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