WFSGI seeks collaboration and government support to tackle inactivity crisis

The organisation is determined to address the problem which is detailed in a report from the World Health Organisation (WHO). It shows that 31% of adults are at risk of suffering from cancer, dementia, diabetes and more due to a lack of exercise.

This equates to 1.8 billion people and is expected to increase further to 35% by 2030.

If the inactivity trend continues, the economic cost of it is projected to exceed $300bn (£233bn/€277bn) by the end of the decade.

This is due to more people suffering from ill health and therefore causing additional strain on global healthcare systems.

The WFSGI is the sole authoritative body for its industry and is recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Its membership covers the entire supply chain of the sporting goods sector.

In response to the report, it has helped to rally nearly 40 members of the sporting goods, retail and health and fitness industries to take collective action.

How to reverse the trend?

“Our focus is on a couple of different aspects,” WFSGI chief executive Emma Zwiebler tells Global Sustainable Sport.

“The two big workflows that we have now across the next two quarters are that we need to identify a way in which we scale up knowledge around this. So, how do we share knowledge, best practice and interventions that work? How do we ensure that people understand what programmatic interventions or communications campaigns can actually help to drive behaviour change?

“We are also building a line of work trying to take what was the moment with the adult inactivity data and build that out into a movement with different actors from across the sport, health, and education sectors.

“The aim of this is to really make a noise around the adolescent inactivity data that we expect will be released early next year.”

The body recognises that its role is to use its international network of organisations within the sporting goods industry to promote healthy and active lifestyles.

It is aiming to align the industry’s voice, make sure it is heard and recognised by other key players to raise awareness around physical activity and grassroots sport.

Importance of teamwork

Since joining the industry, Zwiebler, a former international badminton player for Scotland, has noticed a disconnect between the different organisations.

Valuable work is being undertaken but not enough is being done to share knowledge, leading to a smaller impact than what could be achieved through effective collaborative efforts.

Zwiebler believes that because there are bodies representing all sorts of different sports and demographics, it will make it easier for a unified approach to target and be accessible for as many people as possible.

Major brands such as Adidas, Asics, Puma, and Nike have all put rivalries aside to work collectively in a bid to curb the trend of inactivity.

Government aid

However, there is only so much that these companies can achieve without the backing of international governments.

“Absolutely we want governments to recognise that they have at their fingertips an amazing tool to bring about change,” Zwiebler comments.

“But it does require investment, and if they invest now into improved public health through greater access to sport, greater levels of physical activity and grassroots participation we will see lower health care costs and a happier, more productive nation.

“We need governments to do more, we need them to invest more.

“They will find a willing and large ally in the sporting goods industry, but we need many more policy makers and leaders to recognise that this is a moment in time that we have to do more together and we need their leadership.”

The WFSGI has been working for several years to address the concerns surrounding physical inactivity.

Last year, it signed a Memorandum of Understanding with WHO aimed at aligning and reinforcing private sector support to increase physical activity and community sport participation around the world.

It was WHO’s first agreement with an international sport business association and came with a special focus on enabling women and girls to have more access to physical activity opportunities.

Nike and Adidas, among others, have launched campaigns designed to increase body confidence among teenage girls and to increase the safety of women when exercising publicly, respectively.

For the WFSGI, these initiatives are worthwhile and important but they are not receiving the desired traction.

“One thing the WFSGI has a responsibility to do is to make more people aware of these programmes,” Zwiebler says.

“How do we better showcase these programmes? Because these initiatives need to be scaled up. We need to have more people investing. How do we get more kids swimming? How do we make women feel safer when they are exercising? And how do we make girls feel more body confident?

“These are initiatives that just need to be done more often in more places, and then we would start to get more traction.

“That is where our responsibility as the WFSGI lies.”

Dangers of sedentary work

In 2017, almost four out of every 10 people (39%) employed in the European Union worked sedentary jobs, meaning they carried out their work day while sitting down.

This number is likely increasing, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic and could have a devastating impact.

Researchers from Taiwan published a study in the JAMA Network Open journal and found that those who were mostly engaged in sedentary work had a 34% higher chance of dying from cardiovascular disease than those with active jobs.

However, if an inactive person who worked in a sedentary job could increase their exercise level by between 15 and 30 minutes a day, they would see a “reduction in mortality to a level similar to that of inactive individuals who mostly do not sit at work”.

This has become another area of focus for the WFSGI

“We are trying to identify key partners that can help us scale up knowledge and awareness of [workplace health] interventions because ultimately we need other industries, not just sport, to be implementing this type of physical activity,” concludes Zwiebler.