GENEVA - The 71st World Health Assembly (WHA), which closed on Saturday, has endorsed an action plan to counter worldwide declining physical activity, especially among young people where 81 percent of adolescents aged 11-17 years do not meet global recommendations.Member States endorsed the World Health Organization Global Action Plan on Physical Activity (GAPPA) at the May 21-26 WHA here on the 70th anniversary of the WHO.You approved our new Global Action Plan for Physical Activity, which is essential for our fight against noncommunicable diseases, said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus WHO Director-General in his closing speech at the WHA on Saturday.He noted that the WHA held a very successful Walk the Talk event, and regular yoga sessions during committee meetings that helped liven up the assembly and are important statements that we practice what we preach.GAPPA is a new initiative aimed at increasing participation in physical activity by people of all ages and ability to promote health and beat noncommunicable diseases.These include heart disease, stroke, diabetes, breast and colon cancer, and support improved mental health and quality of life.WHO says that worldwide, 23 percent of adults and 81 percent of adolescents aged 11-17 years do not meet the global recommendations for physical activity.Prevalence of inactivity is as high as 80 percent in some adult populations influenced by changing patterns of transportation, use of technology, urbanization, and cultural values.GAPPA provides countries with a prioritized list of policy actions to address the multiple cultural, environmental and individual determinants of physical inactivity.These actions are connected to four objectives that focus on creating active societies, environments, active people and active systems.The plan's goal is a 15 percent reduction in the global prevalence of physical inactivity in adults and in adolescents by 2030.WHO defines physical activity as any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscle that requires energy expenditure.It can be undertaken in many ways: walking, cycling, sports and active forms of recreation (e.g. dance, yoga, tai chi, weight training) are common types.Physical activity can also be undertaken as part of work (e.g. lifting, carrying or other active tasks) and as part of paid or unpaid domestic tasks around the home (e.g. cleaning, carrying and care duties).Sedentary behavior is defined as any waking activity characterized by low energy expenditure, such as sitting, reclining or lying down.WHO says recent evidence indicates that high levels of continuous sedentary behavior (such as sitting for long periods of time) are associated with abnormal glucose metabolism and cardio-metabolic morbidity, as well as overall mortality. custom rubber band braceletsmedical bracelets ukrubber wristbands in bulkprintable wristbands
The Hong Kong Stock Exchange needs to put the hearts of investors at ease over the dual-class shareholding structure to preserve its world market standing and be seen to be fair. Provided to China Daily The Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX), backed by the government, is making big strides in reforming the rules to allow dual-class shareholding companies to list in the city despite concerns it could undermine the interest of minority shareholders in those companies. Since losing out to New York over the listing of mainland e-commerce giant Alibaba Group a few years ago, the local bourse has been lobbying hard to change the regulations, arguing that the restriction has placed Hong Kong at a distinct disadvantage against rival financial centers in luring new technology companies to float in the special administrative region, particularly those from the Chinese mainland. The regulator's initial resistance melted away when the government openly backed the proposal after it became clear that the SAR had slipped behind New York and Shanghai in the global IPO market rankings. As it is, public consultations on the issue, which will end later this month, are nothing more than a formality. HKEX has insisted that sufficient provisions will be incorporated into the new rules to provide the necessary protection for minority shareholders' interests. But, there are important issues that need to be thrashed out to help clear lingering doubts in the minds of investors. For instance, nothing has been said about whether those dual-class shareholding companies with sufficiently large capitalization will be accepted as constituent stocks in the city's benchmark Hang Seng Index. This is important because if they aren't, then investors will have the choice of staying away from such stocks if they don't feel comfortable with the inherent unfairness of the shareholding structure. When these stocks are admitted into the exclusive club of the index constituent stocks, index fund managers will have no choice, but to include them in their portfolio in proportion to their index weighting. Another point of contention involves the Takeover Code which sets the trigger point of a general offer at a 30-percent holding. That trigger point has to be reset for dual-class shareholding stocks because of the different voting rights of the two classes of shares. The stock exchange is obliged to clarify all the issues that are of concern to investors to preserve its status as an international market that is fair and transparent.
