Run for your life.
The background
Lack of exercise kills almost as many people as smoking, according to a new study. The report, published in The Lancet, claimed inactivity is responsible for 5.3 million deaths a year.
Laziness reaches ‘pandemic’ proportions
Researchers said the problem was now so bad it should be treated as a pandemic,” reported the BBC. “They said tackling it required a new way of thinking, suggesting the public needed to be warned about the dangers of inactivity rather than just reminded of the benefits of being active.” So, in other words: exercise or die, slothpigs.
Bad news for ‘slothful’ UK
The Lancet research also revealed that “the UK is home to the third most slothful population in Europe, with two-thirds of adults failing to take enough physical exercise to keep themselves healthy”, said The Guardian. The recommended levels of exercise are “walking briskly for 30 minutes or more five times a week or taking more vigorous exercise for 20 minutes three times a week”.
This doesn’t mean you can start smoking
“When it comes to preventing cancer, stopping smoking is by far the most important thing you can do,” Dr Claire Knight of Cancer Research UK told The Daily Mail. “Smoking is responsible for over 60,000 cases of the disease each year in the UK, making it the biggest preventable cause of cancer.” Running on a treadmill with a cigarette hanging out of your mouth presumably won’t cut it, then.
