ABC | Volume 112, Nº2, February 2019

Editorial Stein & Börjesson Physical Inactivity in Brazil and Sweden Arq Bras Cardiol. 2019; 112(2):119-120 1. Kohl WH; Craig LC; Lambert VE; Inoue S; Alkandari RJ; Leetongin G, et al. The pandemic of physical inactivity: global action for public health. Lancet. 2012; 380(9838):294-305. 2. Andersen LB, Mota J, Di Pietro L. Update on the global pandemic of physical inactivity. Lancet. 2016;388(10051):1255-6. 3. WorldHealthOrganization (WHO). Global Recommendations on Physical Activity for Health. Geneva;2012. 4. Althoff T, Sosič R, Hicks JL, King AC, Delp SL, Leskovec J. Large-scale physical activity data reveal worldwide activity inequality. Nature. 2017;547(7683):336-9. 5. EkblomÖ, Ekblom-Bak E, BolamKA, Schmidt C, Söderberg S, BergströmG, et al. Concurrent and predictive validity of physical activity measurement items currently used in clinical settings- data from SCAPIS pilot study. BMC Public Health. 2015; Sep 28;15:978. 6. Piercy KL,; Troiano RP; Ballard RM; Carlson SA; Fulton JE; Galuska DA, et al. ThePhysicalActivityGuidelinesforAmericans.JAMA.2018;320(19):2020-8. 7. Guthold R, Stevens GA, Riley LM, Bull FC. Worldwide trends in insufficient physical activity from 2001 to 2016: a pooled analysis of 358 population- based surveys with 1.9 million participants. Lancet Global Health 2018;6: e1077–86. 8. Lindgren M, Börjesson M, Ekblom Ö, Bergström G, Lappas G, Rosengren A. Physical activity pattern, cardiorespiratory fitness, and socioeconomic status in the SCAPIS pilot trial - A cross-sectional study. PrevMed Rep. 2016 Dec;4:44-9. 9. Onerup A, Arvidsson D, Blomqvist Å, Daxberg E-L, Jivegård L, Jonsdottir IH, et al. Physical activity on prescription in accordance with the Swedish model increases physical activity: a systematic review. Br J Sports Med. 2018;0:1-7. References This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License years. Similar initiatives are needed in both Sweden and Brazil, to overcome the future challenge of physical inactivity and increasing lifestyle-related diseases. Conclusion Non-communicable diseases are very prevalent and their frequency increases with population aging. In this scenario, urgent action is needed. In Brazil the barriers have not been broken and the price to be paid due to physical inactivity will be even higher in the coming years. In this context, Brazilians should learn from the Swedes, who already gave the first steps, although they are also still far from what is considered ideal. High-quality research is needed to promote good long-term cardiorespiratory fitness in long term. In parallel, sustainable and feasible programs to decrease physical inactivity are needed aiming to reduce different types of non-communicable diseases and improve global health. Finally, the government, policy makers and research community need to help build societies in which the choice of being physically active is not only healthy, but also enjoyable, affordable and safe. 120