Nearly half of adults too lazy to go for a walk

BRITAIN is in the grip of an ‘inactivity epidemic’, with nearly half of adults failing to go for a brisk walk even once a month.

Health bosses say 45 per cent of over-16s are so sedentary they do not manage the health-boosting ten-minute walk.

Officials are especially worried about more than 6 million inactive people aged between 40 and 60 who are putting their busy lives ahead of their health.

In a major change of strategy, Public Health England (PHE) said inactive people should start aiming simply to get out for a short walk each day, rather than the more ambitious 150 minutes of exercise a week that has dominated NHS advice for years.

They said the British population was 20 per cent less active now than in the 1960s, and the average person walked 15 miles less a year than they did two decades ago.

They warned that cancer, diabetes and heart disease await those who do not get off the sofa.

‘The severity of the current physical inactivity epidemic among adults contributes to one in six deaths in the UK and is costing the NHS over £900million a year,’ a PHE spokesman said.

The NHS recommends people get at least 150 minutes of moderate activity – including swimming, cycling or brisk walking – or 75 minutes of vigorous activity such as running every week.

But officials accept the target may seem too ambitious for many, and so are focusing instead on persuading people to get out for a moderate walk for ten minutes every day, and build up to the higher target. Experts define a brisk walk as a speed of three miles an hour – enough to make your heart beat faster.

US research suggests taking at least one brisk ten-minute walk a day reduces the risk of early death by 15 per cent, and cuts the chance of cancer and heart disease.

Dr Jenny Harries, deputy medical director at PHE, said activity was essential.

‘I know first-hand that juggling the priorities of everyday life often means exercise takes a back seat,’ she said. ‘But walking to the shops instead of driving every day can add many healthy years to your life.’

PHE is targeting middle-aged people with its campaign, as they are considered to be the busiest and most at risk of heart disease.

It said 41 per cent of the 15.3 million adults south of the Border aged between 40 and 60 – equivalent to 6.3 million people – don’t manage a brisk ten-minute walk even once a month. But the new statistics – based on a survey of 200,000 adults – show even younger groups are failing to keep active. Some 43 per cent of those in their 20s and 30s, and 52 per cent of those in their 70s do not manage a monthly brisk walk.

Dr Justin Varney, in charge of adult health and wellbeing at PHE, said: ‘Brisk walking is moving like you are late and trying to get somewhere on time.

‘It will raise your heart rate and make you feel a little warm.’

Experts are increasingly worried about the lifestyles of the British population. Some 67 per cent of adult men and 57 per cent of adult women in Britain are overweight – well above the global average.

Of these, 24 per cent of British adults – 12 million people – are considered obese, a vast increase since 1980, when only 16 per cent were in this category.

Professor Naveed Sattar, an expert in metabolic medicine at the University of Oxford, said: ‘There is plentiful evidence that brisk walking on a regular basis will give meaningful health benefits both for the heart and mind and in the battle against weight gain, and it costs nothing.’