As global temperatures climb, a silent shift toward inactivity could accelerate deaths and economic losses, especially in the world’s most vulnerable regions.
Study: Effects of climate change on physical inactivity: a panel data study across 156 countries from 2000 to 2022. Image credit: ChameleonsEye/Shutterstock.com
Climate change is increasing global heat exposure, but its effects on physical inactivity have received little attention. A recent modeling study in The Lancet projects that physical inactivity could increase by up to 1.75 percentage points, especially in tropical low- and middle-income regions, and that this could mean up to 0.70 million additional deaths annually under high-emissions scenarios by 2050.
Rising global heat reshapes physical activity patterns
Physical inactivity is a…