Brisk walking

Because of our sedentary lifestyles people in the UK are now 20% less active than they were in the 1960s. On average we walk 24km, or 14.9 miles, less a year than two decades ago. That’s a lot of steps.

According to Public Health England (PHE), more than four in 10 adults in England aged 40 to 60 aren’t even managing 10 minutes of continuous brisk walking a month.

Their conclusion is 10 minutes of walking at a brisk pace each day can help prevent cancer, heart disease and poor mental health.

But many people aren’t managing to tear themselves away from smartphones and computer screens. Avoiding getting out of breath has become a way of life.

The report estimates that physical inactivity in adults contributes to one in six deaths in the UK. What’s more it also costs the NHS over £900million a year. So it seems we’d all benefit from a bit more perambulation.

As part of a new campaign to encourage people to build 10 minutes of continuous brisk walk into their day, PHE wants GPs to flag up the free Active 10 app to patients who could benefit from increasing their amount of brisk walking.

I’ll flag it up too, here you go: www.nhs.uk/oneyou/active10