Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
6m middle aged don’t walk 10mins a month
What you should do... Inactive people risk early death say docs
MORE than six million middle-aged people are putting themselves at risk of an early death by failing to go on a single brisk 10-minute walk in a month.
Experts say stepping out for a short 3mph stroll every day can help to prevent cancer, heart disease and poor mental health.
But today’s statistic from Public Health England suggests a shocking 41% of 40 to 60-year-olds would not manage 12 in a year.
Dr Jenny Harries, deputy medical director at PHE, said: “I know first hand that juggling the priorities of everyday life often means exercise takes a back seat.
“Walking to the shops instead of driving or going for a brisk 10-minute walk on your lunch break each day can add many healthy years to your life.” Some fitness apps and trackers encourage people to aim for 10,000 steps a day, but doctors recognise many people cannot fit this into their schedules.
PHE suggests a short, brisk walk is likely to be seen as “achievable” by inactive people. Yet six million middle-aged people do not manage a 10-minute walk in a month.
The PHE report also found a quarter of the English population was “inactive”, doing fewer than 30 minutes of physical activity per week.
People are also 20% less active now than they were in the 1960s. Lack of exercise contributes to one in six deaths in the UK and costs the NHS almost £1billion a year.
In response, PHE is today launching a new One You campaign with an “Active 10” app to help people keep track of their exercise.
Clinical adviser Professor Sir Muir Gray said: “By walking just 10 continuous minutes at a brisk pace every day, an individual can reduce their risk of early death by 15%.”
The NHS’S new diabetes screening programme could save thousands of lives, research suggests. Cambridge University analysis of data from 27,000 middle-aged people who participated in a similar scheme in Denmark found those diagnosed were 21% less likely to die over the next six years.