So what’s worse: Being obese or not exercising enough?
As it turns out, not getting enough exercise is deadlier, according to new research from the University of Cambridge.
The findings, now published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, show that being sedentary increases a person’s risk of early death by as much as 30 percent–much more than people who are simply obese.
Good news, though: These effects are reversible.
“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,” says Ulf Ekelund, a researcher from the Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge. “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.”
For the study, researchers analyzed data from over 330,000 European men and women originally enrolled in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition Study, or EPIC. Here researchers looked at their height, weight, and waist circumference readings, also examining how many of them reported being physically active. They also looked at how many died prematurely from any cause.
The bad news? Those who were physically inactive increased their risk of early death by 16 to 30 percent.
“The higher risk of death resulting from excess adiposity may be attenuated by physical activity (PA),” write researchers in the online version of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. “The hazards of all-cause mortality were reduced by 16–30% in moderately inactive individuals compared with those categorized as inactive in different strata of BMI and WC [waist circumference].”
On a positive note, researchers also found a solution to reducing this mortality risk–simply moving around more. According to their findings, increasing physical activity by just 20 minutes a day could reduce a person’s risk of premature death by up to 30 percent. Better yet, it benefited both overweight and normal-weight adults.
For Nick Wareham, Director of the Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit, this strengthens the need to encourage people to move around more, regardless of their weight.
“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,” says Wareham.
What You Should Do
Want to live a longer, healthier life? Your diet matters–but what matters more is staying physically active. To jump start your healthy lifestyle, just adding 20 minutes of brisk walking per day can help; something people of all ages can accomplish.
Readers: What is your favorite form of exercise?
Sources:
Lack of Exercise Responsible for Twice as Many Early Deaths as Obesity – ScienceDaily.com
Physical Activity and All-Cause Mortality Across Levels of Overall and Abdominal Adiposity in European Men and Women – Nutrition.org
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