Obesity, including related conditions, has been highlighted and used to try and convince people about the importance of exercising, and the dangers of not getting enough exercise. A study from Cambridge University has found that a lack of exercise alone is more dangerous and likely to result in a premature death than obesity is.
People generally focus on losing weight as a measure of health, but this incorporates both diet and exercise. Eating well is only part of the issue, and those who rely more on diet to control their weight may be putting themselves in danger later on in life.
A study of data of over 334,000 people, covering 12 years of their lives, has found that exercise has benefits, other than just preventing weight gain, which help to keep our bodies working healthily for longer.
People who were classed as active in the data were found, over the period the data covered, to have a 7.35% reduced risk of dying from any cause. Having a BMI beneath levels classed as obese however, reduced mortality by 3.66%.
So of course, having a lower BMI will improve life expectancy (unless it goes as low to be classed as underweight, which can cause its own problems), but avoiding an inactive lifestyle will do even more to help, according to this study. “Just a small amount of physical activity each day could have substantial health benefits for people who are physically inactive,” said the study leader, Professor Ulf Ekelund, of the Medical Research Council at Cambridge University.
According to the report, as little as a 20 minute brisk walk per day could be enough to give substantial advantages, but the more, the better.
It is thought that 337,000 deaths in Europe per year areas a result of obesity, but twice that could be down to an inactive lifestyle, which can lead to heart disease and cancer.
So while you are focusing on dieting away the Christmas weight this January, make sure you are getting in your bit of daily exercise to maximise your health.
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