Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

More Collaboration - More Power In Combating Ill Health, Ilkka Vuori, Steven N. Blair, Fiona C. Bull, Peter T. Katzmarzyk

Faculty Publications

This symposium highlighted the position of physical activity as one of the most important factors causally related to common non-communicable diseases (NCDs), and discussed the need for including physical activity in comprehensive prevention strategies and policies to combat the major NCDs. Lifestyle factors such as smoking, physical inactivity, and obesity are all major risk factors for ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, and several cancers, and physical inactivity globally ranks as the fourth leading risk factor for mortality. Despite the solid evidence that physical activity is related to several NCDs, stronger advocacy actions are required because physical activity is not viewed …