Physical inactivity causes 1 in 10 deaths worldwide, study says

While many people with desk jobs are being required to work long hours.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/18/health/physical-inactivity-deaths/index.html?hpt=hp_bn12


By Matt Sloane, CNN
updated 5:47 PM EDT, Wed July 18, 2012


Physical inactivity causes 1 in 10 deaths worldwide, according to a series of studies released in British medical journal The Lancet, putting it on par with the dangers of smoking and obesity. The results also suggest that public health officials treat this situation as a pandemic.

Specifically, Harvard researchers say, inactivity caused an increase in deaths from coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, breast and colon cancers and caused more than 5.3 million deaths in 2008 worldwide.

If physical inactivity rates were to go down by even 10% to 20% worldwide, they say, it could save between a half-million and 1.3 million lives each year. This could also raise global life expectancy by almost a year.

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