Milkha Singh appointed as WHO goodwill ambassador for physical activities
Milkha Singh goodwill ambassador WHO: Flying Sikh, Milkha Singh has been appointed as the World Health Organisation’s goodwill ambassador for physical activity in South-East Asia Region (SEAR), as per the global health body.
The sprint legend will promote WHO SEAR’s non–communicable diseases prevention and control action plan which seeks to reduce the level of insufficient physical activity by 10 per cent and NCDs by per cent by 2025, says Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director WHO SEA said.
“Promoting physical activity for health is an important intervention, which is expected to get a significant boost in the region with the support of octogenarian Milkha Singh, a champion for the cause,” she said.
About 8.5 million people die due to non-communicable diseases every year in WHO South-East Asia Region and many of these deaths are premature and nearly all are lifestyle related, she added.
Non communicable diseases such as heart diseases, stoke, diabetes and cancer are increasingly falling upon people across the globe.
In order to prevent you self from being victims to these regular exercise and physical activity must be religiously practiced.
A shocking 70 per cent of boys, 80 per cent of girls and nearly 33 per cent adults in the region report insufficient physical activity which is becoming a common feature of modern life, Flying Singh said.
He pointed out how our lifestyle is ruining our health by every passing day. A minimum of 60 minutes of exercise for children and about 150 minutes for adults is mandatory to stave off non-communicable diseases.
To facilitate this, WHO has also been advocating with governments to create public spaces for recreational and organized sports. It has been said that physical activity is the best way to curtail of deaths due to NCDs.
With the support of Milkha Singh, we expect to promote and scale up physical activity in the region to be able to arrest and reverse the NCD epidemic, she said.
-PTC News
