COUCH POTATO?

You've no doubt heard about the benefits of exercising, but have you ever thought of the risks of being a couch potato? You sit in your car to get to and from work. You sit at your desk all day. You sit in your comfy chair and watch TV at night. Is that a description of a typical day? If so, this should make you jump up in fear: About 10% of all deaths worldwide can be attributed to inactivity. Four different studies in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet reveal that sitting on our derrieres can be as dangerous for longevity as smoking. How? Being sedentary puts you at a far higher risk of developing breast cancer, colon cancer, type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Want more?

One-third of all adults -- that's about 1.5 billion people worldwide -- have a 20% to 30% greater risk of disease because they do not exercise at least 150 minutes a week.

80% of adolescents live a risky sedentary lifestyle.

About 6% of coronary artery disease cases and 7% of type 2 diabetes cases are linked to lack of exercise. Physical inactivity also accounts for an average of about 10% of breast and colon cancer cases worldwide.

In North America, 43% of adults are classified as inactive, compared with just 17% of Asians.

If physical inactivity rates were to be cut by as little as 10% globally, as many as 533,000 lives could be saved. And if it could be sliced by 25%, 1.3 million lives could be saved.

So what can you do? You don't have to run a marathon. Brisk walking or biking for 30 minutes a day, five days a week could not only help you to look and feel better, but also help you to live longer. A lot longer.

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