Inactivity Could Kill You

Want to save your own life? Then maybe you need to move around more during the day.

The reason it might save your life is because of inactivity. Our lack of movement during the day is as dangerous to our health as smoking.

That's the latest conclusion from researchers looking to see how much our lifestyle is affecting our health. In a new report, just published in the Journal Lancet, these researchers have estimated that about 1 out of every 3 or us aren't doing enough physical activity during the day. That's probably not a big surprise to most of us. But that lack of activity is causing 5.3 million deaths each year. That's right up there with the number of deaths we see from things like heart disease, diabetes and some cancers. And to put it in a different light, these researchers say that's the same number of deaths that smoking causes.

In a different study researchers also found that as many as 1 in 3 adults worldwide aren't getting enough physical activity. Those numbers are even higher here in the U.S., with almost half of us not getting enough exercise.

So, what does this mean for you and your family? It mostly means that we all need to get up and move more. One current recommendation is 150 minutes of moderate exercise, like brisk walking, every week. If you spread that out to 5 days, that's 30 minutes per day. Put aside time to do this, it could be one of the best things you do for your health and for your life.