Health Equity & Access Weekly Roundup: March 20, 2026

Is Climate Change Quietly Fueling a Global Physical Inactivity Crisis?

Rising global temperatures are significantly contributing to physical inactivity, with each additional month of mean temperatures above 27.8°C linked to a 1.44-percentage-point increase in global physical inactivity, a new study found, and an even steeper 1.85-percentage-point increase in low- and middle-income countries. The study, which analyzed data from 156 countries and 5.7 million adults between 2000 and 2022, also found that women are more affected than men. Projections out to 2050 paint a concerning picture: depending on the emissions scenario, global physical inactivity could increase by up to 1.75 percentage points, potentially resulting in up to 700,000 additional premature deaths per year and nearly $3.7 billion in annual productivity losses, with regional hotspots in Central America, the Caribbean, and equatorial Southeast Asia bearing the greatest burden. The authors warn that without stronger climate mitigation efforts, rising temperatures could undermine the World Health Organization’s goal of reducing global physical inactivity by 15% by 2030, while an accompanying editorial called for policy solutions such as walkable urban design and green spaces to address both inactivity and climate change simultaneously.

5 Things to Know About Pediatric Health Coaching and the Obesity Care Gap

Experts from the Pediatric Health Coach Academy argue that pediatric health coaching could help bridge the gap between clinical recommendations for treating childhood obesity and the support families actually receive. Despite guidelines from both the US Preventive Services Task Force and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommending intensive, family-based behavioral interventions, fewer than half of children who need obesity-related support receive it, and when they do, care is typically limited to brief, episodic counseling during routine visits. Health coaching offers a more sustained, relationship-based approach that addresses not just individual habits but the broader family system, incorporating mental health, stress, sleep, and social factors. The model also presents a workforce solution, with existing professionals, such as community health workers and care coordinators, being trained to deliver behavior-change support beyond the clinic. With childhood obesity contributing to over $3 billion in annual health care costs and projected societal costs reaching $49 billion by 2050, experts say health coaching could be a cost-effective strategy at scale, although expanding reimbursement pathways remains a critical barrier to widespread adoption.

Racial, Geographic, and Sex Disparities Drive Early-Onset CRC Treatment Delays

Delays in colorectal cancer (CRC) treatment initiation are most common in all-urban areas and disproportionately affect young male patients and those from minoritized racial and ethnic groups, specifically Black, Hispanic, and Asian or Pacific Islander patients, new findings show. Contrary to the researchers' initial hypothesis, rural patients actually had shorter times to treatment than their urban counterparts. The retrospective analysis drew on Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results data from 2006 to 2020, covering nearly 80,000 patients with early-onset CRC. Although the statistical effect sizes were modest, the authors cautioned that even small delays can compound into significant population-level disparities across sociodemographic groups, pointing to the need for further research with more detailed clinical data.

Costs of Marketplace Plans Much Higher After Enhanced Credit Expiration

The expiration of enhanced premium tax credits—following last year's government shutdown—has significantly driven up health care costs for many Americans, according to a new KFF survey of over 1100 Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace enrollees. Some 80% of those still enrolled in Marketplace plans reported higher premiums, deductibles, or coinsurance compared with 2025, with 51% describing costs as "a lot higher." These financial pressures are rippling into everyday life, with 55% of enrollees cutting back on basic household expenses to maintain coverage and nearly half worried about affording routine care, prescriptions, and emergency services. Despite this, re-enrollment remained relatively high at 69%, although 9% of 2025 Marketplace enrollees are now uninsured and 17% of current enrollees are uncertain they can sustain their premiums through year-end. The financial strain is also shaping political sentiment, with nearly half of registered voters surveyed saying health care costs will influence how they vote in the 2026 midterms.

Income Associated With Health System Performance Disparities in US, South Korea

Income-related disparities in health system performance are a persistent issue in both the US and South Korea, although the inequalities are more pronounced in the US, according to a new cross-sectional analysis. The study analyzed data from over 400,000 adults across both countries, evaluating 6 domains, including health care spending, access to care, health status, and clinical outcomes. In both nations, lower-income adults had higher total health care spending, less access to care, and worse self-reported health, with the gap especially stark in the US, where the highest-income decile earned 42 times as much as the lowest compared with 16 times as much in South Korea. Notably, despite spending significantly more on health care overall, the US showed health status and clinical outcomes similar to those of South Korea, suggesting that higher spending does not necessarily translate into better results. The authors concluded that addressing these deeply rooted income-based health disparities will require coordinated, multisectoral policy interventions in both countries.