By Nayak Paudel

Morang, May 8: While the cases of physical inactivity have been on rise in Nepal, experts argue the trend has increased more during the lockdown as the people have been remaining mostly indoors.
Insufficient physical activity is termed as one of the leading factors for global mortality since it leads to various non-communicable diseases. In the span of six years from 2013 to 2019, the trend of insufficient physical inactivity had increased resulting to more risks of non-communicable diseases.
According to a report – Non-communicable Disease Risk Factors-STEPS Survey Nepal 2019 – by the Nepal Health Research Council (NHRC), lack of sufficient physical activity had increased to 7.4 per cent in 2019 from 2.4 per cent in 2013 amongst the adults aged 18-69 years.
Similarly, regarding the adolescents aged 15-17 years; the trend has increased from 7.2 per cent in 2013 to 10.8 per cent in 2019. “The cases of insufficient physical activity have been on rise and it is definitely not good news for us because lack of physical activity has adverse effects on one’s health and leads to various non-communicable diseases,” said Prof. Dr Anjani Kumar Jha, chairman at NHRC.
Physical inactivity leads to multiple non-communicable diseases such as coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, breast and colon cancer, hypertension, overweight and obesity among others.
According to a report published in the Lancet Global Health in 2018 over the worldwide trends in insufficient physical activity from 2001 to 2016 in 168 countries, 13.4 per cent of Nepalis were found to be physically inactive. The rate, however, was the lowest in South Asia.
Regarding the global trend, more than one in four adults globally are physically inactive. While the global community including Nepal has been facing the burden, people are projected to be more physically inactive due to the lockdown.
“The change in living standards of the people plays a key role in increasing physical inactivity. Due to the lockdown, those who have been remaining physically active have been affected and moreover those who used to be active only for an extent,” said Meghnath Dhimal, senior research officer at NHRC.
As per the report in Lancet Global Health, the cases of physical inactivity were more in the high income countries than in the low income countries.
“Since lockdown, gyms are closed and we are prohibited from playing football or going for swimming. Not being able to continue with the exercises and playing sports, it does not help my body – physically and mentally – to function properly,” said Arjun Rai, a 20-year-old from Ward 9 of Pathari Shanishchare Municipality.

Meanwhile, when Rai has been prohibited to visit the gym or play sports, he has not let the lockdown affect his physical activity on the daily basis.
“Even when gym is closed, I do my exercise at home. I run for around an hour and do push-ups, sit-ups and squats. We have more time to do exercise during the lockdown as we are free,” said Rai.
Even experts say that being physical active depends on the determination of an individual.
“People are free like never before due to the lockdown, but they still don’t do any exercise. Being physically active helps an individual to be healthy both physically and mentally, but even educated people don’t take it seriously,” said Dhimal.
Along with an individual’s own responsibility towards being physically active for oneself, the government has also an important role to play.
“Many people in the Kathmandu Valley do not go out for morning or evening walks and to do exercise because of the pollution and lack of free space. In the context of outside the valley, many people believe their daily work makes them physically active; which is not enough. From creating necessary environment to generating awareness, the government has a lot to do in this area,” said Dhimal.