New research suggests inactivity is responsible for twice as many deaths as obesity, and a brisk 20 minute daily walk could help extend one's life.
Physical inactivity has often been linked to early death, especially those related to cancer or heart disease, the University of Cambridge reported.
To make their findings the researchers looked at 334,161 men and women across Europe participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) Study. They measured "height, weight and waist circumference," and used self-assessment to detrmine levels of physical activity. They found the greatest risk reduction for early death occurred between inactive and moderately inactive groups.
"This is a simple message: just a small amount of physical activity each day could have substantial health benefits for people who are physically inactive. Although we found that just 20 minutes would make a difference, we should really be looking to do more than this - physical activity has many proven health benefits and should be an important part of our daily life," said study leader professor Ulf Ekelund from the Medical Research Council (MRC) Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge.
In the study about a quarter (22.7 percent) of participants were categorized as inactive. The researchers determined a brisk walk of only 20 minutes per day would move these participants to the moderately active group and could reduce their risk of death by between 16 and 30 percent. This effect was greatest among individuals of a healthy weight, although it was still observed in those with a high BMI.
"Helping people to lose weight can be a real challenge, and whilst we should continue to aim at reducing population levels of obesity, public health interventions that encourage people to make small but achievable changes in physical activity can have significant health benefits and may be easier to achieve and maintain."
The findings were published in a recent edition of the journal American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
