British people among the laziest in Europe

21 July Daily Mail

Britons are among the laziest people in Europe, according to a study which found that almost two thirds of adults are putting their health at risk through a lack of exercise.Only Malta and Serbia saved British people the title of the most slothful in the continent by a new study into global levels of activity.

Some 63 per cent of adults in this country are failing to meet health guidelines which advocate at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise, such as brisk walking, five times a week or 20 minutes of more vigorous activity three times a week. Falling below this target can raise the risk of conditions like heart disease, diabetes and certain types of cancer by 20 to 30 per cent, doctors warn.Our lethargy is double the global average and the eighth worst of the 122 countries studied, which collectively account for 89 per cent of the world's population.

Malta was the laziest country worldwide, with 72 per cent of adults classified as physically inactive, but Britain (63pc) far outstretched other countries like the USA (41pc), France (33pc) and Greece (16pc).One third of adults across the world and four in five teenagers are physically inactive according to the study, which was based on self-reported data. Pedro Hallal of Universidade Federal de Pelotas in Brazil, who led the study, said: "In most countries, inactivity rises with age and is higher in women than in men. Inactivity is also increased in high-income countries."The study is part of a wider series on physical activity published in the latest issue of the Lancet journal.

In a separate paper, researchers from Harvard Medical School reported that lack of exercise now ranks alongside smoking and obesity in its contribution to disease.Physical inactivity was responsible for 5.3 million of the 57 million deaths worldwide in 2008 including six to ten per cent of cases of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, breast and colon cancer, they estimated.Professor Mark Batt, President of the UK Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine, said: "Physical activity is the most prevalent modifiable risk factor for chronic disease, and this is one of the many reasons we need to work harder to promote the advantages of exercise across the country."Physical activity should be ingrained in daily routines and our way of life, but this is simply not the case at the moment."