Less than a third of people in the UK get the exercise they need - despite new figures saying inactivity can be as deadly as smoking. A study found more than 5.3 million of the 57 million deaths worldwide in 2008 could be linked to inactivity.
Researchers estimate that lack of exercise could be responsible for around one in 10 cases of heart disease (10.5%) and just under one in five cases (18.7%) of colon cancer in the UK.
But an analysis by NHS Choices says smoking (an active harm) and inactivity (a passive harm) may kill similar number of people, smoking rates are lower than the number of inactive people, making smoking a more risky activity overall. That said, upping your exercise is something that is easy and cheap to do and it's up to us all to take responsibility.
Lead researcher Dr I-Min Lee, from Harvard Medical School, said: "The UK is doing worse than the world average. We’re not sure why this is but only about a third are taking the recommended amount. It could be to do with the weather."
He also said there were a lack of incentives to exercise in the UK, and recommended walking or cycling to work as an easy (and cheap) way to get active.
Lack of exercise can be as deadly as smoking
LINK: http://www.cardioholic.co.uk/get-lean/2012/07/18/lack-of-exercise-can-be-as-deadly-as-smoking
In a series of articles in the Lancet timed to coincide with the Olympics, researchers from 16 countries set out the scale of the health burden created by physical inactivity. You can read more about the research here.
The scientists say they are neither Olympics kill-joys nor are they advocating punishing gym sessions. As Pamela Das from the Lancet puts it: "It is not about running on a treadmill, whilst staring at a mirror and listening to your iPod."
There's nothing wrong with going to the gym of course, but the aim is to encourage everyone to build physical activity into their daily lives, such as by walking, cycling, swimming, gardening or doing any sport they enjoy.
The trouble is, all that sounds familiar. We all know we should move more and sit less.
Despite that, one in three adults worldwide fails to do the recommended 150 minutes of moderate aerobic physical activity per week. In the UK two out of three adults don't manage it. The guidance is here.
So rather than stressing the health benefits of exercise, the Lancet researchers have opted to show the harm caused by inactivity. They estimate lack of exercise is responsible for about 5.3m deaths a year - about the same number as smoking.
This is based on estimates of the impact on inactivity on coronary heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, and two specfic cancers - breast and bowel - where lack of exercise is a major risk factor.
There are some weaknesses in the data. The scientists have had to rely on the results of questionnaires sent out to 122 countries in which people self-report their levels of activity. It must also be difficult to separate the disease burden of obesity from the figures.
But Dr I-Min Lee, Harvard Medical School, says they were very cautious: "Our estimates of ill-health from lack of physical activity are, if anything, on the low side."
The outlook for the next generation seems bleak. A staggering four out of five 13-15 year olds globally do not do the recommended 60 minutes of activity every day.
The researchers say the problem of inactivity has reached pandemic levels, with far-reaching health, economic, environmental and social consequences. They call for a radical re-think in how to deal with the issue.
But rather than simply focusing on the bad, I prefer to emphasise the good, or rather the benefits of being active. As Dr I-Min Lee put it to me, "Everything that gets worse when we get older, gets better when we exercise."
The team of 33 researchers drawn from centres across the world also said governments needed Article written by Fergus Walsh Fergus Walsh Medical correspondent
Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/correspondents/ferguswalsh/
Lancet Article:
This article is made available free of charge, as a service to our users.
Physical activity
guidelines for
AdulTS (19–64 yEArS)
1. Adults should aim to be active daily. Over a week, activity
should add up to at least 150 minutes (2½ hours) of
moderate intensity activity in bouts of 10 minutes or more –
one way to approach this is to do 30 minutes on at least
5 days a week.
2. Alternatively, comparable benefits can be achieved through
75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity spread across the
week or combinations of moderate and vigorous intensity
activity.
3. Adults should also undertake physical activity to improve
muscle strength on at least two days a week.
4. All adults should minimise the amount of time spent being
sedentary (sitting) for extended periods.
Individual physical and mental capabilities should be considered
when interpreting the guidelines.
Examples of physical activity that meet the
guidelines
Moderate intensity physical activities will cause adults to
get warmer and breathe harder and their hearts to beat
faster, but they should still be able to carry on a
conversation.
Physical activities that strengthen muscles involve using
body weight or working against a resistance. This should
involve using all the major muscle groups.
Minimising sedentary behaviour may include:
• � Reducing time spent watching TV, using the computer
or playing video games
• � Taking regular breaks at work
• � Breaking up sedentary time such as swapping a long
bus or car journey for walking part of the way
What are the benefits of being active daily?
• � Reduces risk of a range of diseases, e.g. coronary
heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes
• � Helps maintain a healthy weight
• � Helps maintain ability to perform everyday tasks with
ease
• � Improves self-esteem
• � Reduces symptoms of depression and anxiety
For further information: Start Active, Stay Active: A report
on physical activity for health from the four home
countries’ Chief Medical Officers (2011)
Researchers estimate that lack of exercise could be responsible for around one in 10 cases of heart disease (10.5%) and just under one in five cases (18.7%) of colon cancer in the UK.
But an analysis by NHS Choices says smoking (an active harm) and inactivity (a passive harm) may kill similar number of people, smoking rates are lower than the number of inactive people, making smoking a more risky activity overall. That said, upping your exercise is something that is easy and cheap to do and it's up to us all to take responsibility.
Lead researcher Dr I-Min Lee, from Harvard Medical School, said: "The UK is doing worse than the world average. We’re not sure why this is but only about a third are taking the recommended amount. It could be to do with the weather."
He also said there were a lack of incentives to exercise in the UK, and recommended walking or cycling to work as an easy (and cheap) way to get active.
Lack of exercise can be as deadly as smoking
LINK: http://www.cardioholic.co.uk/get-lean/2012/07/18/lack-of-exercise-can-be-as-deadly-as-smoking
Sedentary lifestyle can kill
BBC
Lack of exercise is causing as many deaths around the world as smoking, according to the research
The world is just days away from the greatest global showcase of elite sport.
But
while a few thousand athletes will be pushing their bodies to the
limit, most of the world will be watching on TV, sitting inactive for
hours on end.In a series of articles in the Lancet timed to coincide with the Olympics, researchers from 16 countries set out the scale of the health burden created by physical inactivity. You can read more about the research here.
The scientists say they are neither Olympics kill-joys nor are they advocating punishing gym sessions. As Pamela Das from the Lancet puts it: "It is not about running on a treadmill, whilst staring at a mirror and listening to your iPod."
There's nothing wrong with going to the gym of course, but the aim is to encourage everyone to build physical activity into their daily lives, such as by walking, cycling, swimming, gardening or doing any sport they enjoy.
The trouble is, all that sounds familiar. We all know we should move more and sit less.
Despite that, one in three adults worldwide fails to do the recommended 150 minutes of moderate aerobic physical activity per week. In the UK two out of three adults don't manage it. The guidance is here.
So rather than stressing the health benefits of exercise, the Lancet researchers have opted to show the harm caused by inactivity. They estimate lack of exercise is responsible for about 5.3m deaths a year - about the same number as smoking.
This is based on estimates of the impact on inactivity on coronary heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, and two specfic cancers - breast and bowel - where lack of exercise is a major risk factor.
There are some weaknesses in the data. The scientists have had to rely on the results of questionnaires sent out to 122 countries in which people self-report their levels of activity. It must also be difficult to separate the disease burden of obesity from the figures.
But Dr I-Min Lee, Harvard Medical School, says they were very cautious: "Our estimates of ill-health from lack of physical activity are, if anything, on the low side."
The outlook for the next generation seems bleak. A staggering four out of five 13-15 year olds globally do not do the recommended 60 minutes of activity every day.
The researchers say the problem of inactivity has reached pandemic levels, with far-reaching health, economic, environmental and social consequences. They call for a radical re-think in how to deal with the issue.
But rather than simply focusing on the bad, I prefer to emphasise the good, or rather the benefits of being active. As Dr I-Min Lee put it to me, "Everything that gets worse when we get older, gets better when we exercise."
Exercise can...
- Help with insomnia
- Strengthen bones
- Help you to manage stress, anxiety and even depression
The team of 33 researchers drawn from centres across the world also said governments needed Article written by Fergus Walsh Fergus Walsh Medical correspondent
Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/correspondents/ferguswalsh/
Lancet Article:
The Lancet, Volume 380, Issue 9838, Pages 219 - 229, 21 July 2012
doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(12)61031-9
Cite or Link Using DOI
Cite or Link Using DOIEffect of physical inactivity on major non-communicable diseases worldwide: an analysis of burden of disease and life expectancy
Summary
Background
Strong
evidence shows that physical inactivity increases the risk of many
adverse health conditions, including major non-communicable diseases
such as coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and breast and colon
cancers, and shortens life expectancy. Because much of the world's
population is inactive, this link presents a major public health issue.
We aimed to quantify the effect of physical inactivity on these major
non-communicable diseases by estimating how much disease could be
averted if inactive people were to become active and to estimate gain in
life expectancy at the population level.
Methods
For
our analysis of burden of disease, we calculated population
attributable fractions (PAFs) associated with physical inactivity using
conservative assumptions for each of the major non-communicable
diseases, by country, to estimate how much disease could be averted if
physical inactivity were eliminated. We used life-table analysis to
estimate gains in life expectancy of the population.
Findings
Worldwide,
we estimate that physical inactivity causes 6% (ranging from 3·2% in
southeast Asia to 7·8% in the eastern Mediterranean region) of the
burden of disease from coronary heart disease, 7% (3·9—9·6) of type 2
diabetes, 10% (5·6—14·1) of breast cancer, and 10% (5·7—13·8) of colon
cancer. Inactivity causes 9% (range 5·1—12·5) of premature mortality, or
more than 5·3 million of the 57 million deaths that occurred worldwide
in 2008. If inactivity were not eliminated, but decreased instead by
10% or 25%, more than 533 000 and more than 1·3 million deaths,
respectively, could be averted every year. We estimated that elimination
of physical inactivity would increase the life expectancy of the
world's population by 0·68 (range 0·41—0·95) years.
Interpretation
Physical
inactivity has a major health effect worldwide. Decrease in or removal
of this unhealthy behaviour could improve health substantially.
Funding
None.
Effect of physical inactivity on major non-communicable diseases worldwide: an analysis of burden of disease and life expectancy
Summary
Background
Strong evidence shows that physical inactivity increases the risk of many adverse health conditions, including major non-communicable diseases such as coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and breast and colon cancers, and shortens life expectancy. Because much of the world's population is inactive, this link presents a major public health issue. We aimed to quantify the effect of physical inactivity on these major non-communicable diseases by estimating how much disease could be averted if inactive people were to become active and to estimate gain in life expectancy at the population level.
Methods
For our analysis of burden of disease, we calculated population attributable fractions (PAFs) associated with physical inactivity using conservative assumptions for each of the major non-communicable diseases, by country, to estimate how much disease could be averted if physical inactivity were eliminated. We used life-table analysis to estimate gains in life expectancy of the population.
Findings
Worldwide, we estimate that physical inactivity causes 6% (ranging from 3·2% in southeast Asia to 7·8% in the eastern Mediterranean region) of the burden of disease from coronary heart disease, 7% (3·9—9·6) of type 2 diabetes, 10% (5·6—14·1) of breast cancer, and 10% (5·7—13·8) of colon cancer. Inactivity causes 9% (range 5·1—12·5) of premature mortality, or more than 5·3 million of the 57 million deaths that occurred worldwide in 2008. If inactivity were not eliminated, but decreased instead by 10% or 25%, more than 533 000 and more than 1·3 million deaths, respectively, could be averted every year. We estimated that elimination of physical inactivity would increase the life expectancy of the world's population by 0·68 (range 0·41—0·95) years.
Interpretation
Physical inactivity has a major health effect worldwide. Decrease in or removal of this unhealthy behaviour could improve health substantially.
Funding
None.
a Division of Preventive Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
Correspondence to: Dr I-Min Lee, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA
b Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
c Global Health Promotion Office, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
d National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland
e Department of Exercise Science and Department of Epidemiology/Biostatistics, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA
f Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, LA, USA
Correspondence to: Dr I-Min Lee, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA
† Members listed at end of paper
Physical activity guidelines for adults
FACTSHEET 4
Physical activity
guidelines for
AdulTS (19–64 yEArS)
1. Adults should aim to be active daily. Over a week, activity
should add up to at least 150 minutes (2½ hours) of
moderate intensity activity in bouts of 10 minutes or more –
one way to approach this is to do 30 minutes on at least
5 days a week.
2. Alternatively, comparable benefits can be achieved through
75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity spread across the
week or combinations of moderate and vigorous intensity
activity.
3. Adults should also undertake physical activity to improve
muscle strength on at least two days a week.
4. All adults should minimise the amount of time spent being
sedentary (sitting) for extended periods.
Individual physical and mental capabilities should be considered
when interpreting the guidelines.
Examples of physical activity that meet the
guidelines
Moderate intensity physical activities will cause adults to
get warmer and breathe harder and their hearts to beat
faster, but they should still be able to carry on a
conversation.
Examples include:
• � Brisk walking
• � Cycling
Vigorous intensity physical activities will cause adults to
get warmer and breathe much harder and their hearts to
beat rapidly, making it more difficult to carry on a
conversation.
• � Brisk walking
• � Cycling
Vigorous intensity physical activities will cause adults to
get warmer and breathe much harder and their hearts to
beat rapidly, making it more difficult to carry on a
conversation.
Examples include:
• � Running
• � Sports such as swimming or football
• � Running
• � Sports such as swimming or football
Physical activities that strengthen muscles involve using
body weight or working against a resistance. This should
involve using all the major muscle groups.
Examples include:
• � Exercising with weights
• � Carrying or moving heavy loads such as groceries
• � Exercising with weights
• � Carrying or moving heavy loads such as groceries
Minimising sedentary behaviour may include:
• � Reducing time spent watching TV, using the computer
or playing video games
• � Taking regular breaks at work
• � Breaking up sedentary time such as swapping a long
bus or car journey for walking part of the way
What are the benefits of being active daily?
• � Reduces risk of a range of diseases, e.g. coronary
heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes
• � Helps maintain a healthy weight
• � Helps maintain ability to perform everyday tasks with
ease
• � Improves self-esteem
• � Reduces symptoms of depression and anxiety
For further information: Start Active, Stay Active: A report
on physical activity for health from the four home
countries’ Chief Medical Officers (2011)
© Crown copyright 2011. 406414d 1p 0k July 11 (Web only)
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