A quarter of adults can’t even manage a weekly half-hour walk

THE sedentary lifestyle of many Britons has been laid bare by NHS figures showing a quarter of adults fail to manage even 30 minutes’ exercise a week.

Women are even more inactive, with 27 per cent not taking at least half an hour of moderate activity.

This is defined as anything that gets you slightly out of breath and can include gardening and heavy house- work, as well as walking and jogging.

The findings are particularly worrying as Britain has the second highest rate of obesity in Europe after Hungary.

The Government recommends adults do at least 150 minutes of activity a week – along with strength exercises – to prevent obesity, heart disease and dementia. But an NHS Digital report reveals only 61 per cent manage this, with 26 per cent of all adults not even completing 30 minutes.

Receptionists, care and call centre workers took even less than that, as did the unemployed and over-65s, with 30 per cent classed as inactive.

Some 58 per cent of women and 68 per cent of men are overweight or obese in the UK.

This week the Government issued voluntary guidelines to manufacturers urging them to shrink sweet treats to help reduce soaring rates of obesity and diabetes.

On Tuesday leading doctor and lifestyle author Sir Muir Gray caused controversy by saying Type 2 diabetes was not a ‘real disease’, but a self-inflicted ‘walking deficiency syndrome’.

Some experts claim inactivity is as deadly as smoking or obesity and it is linked to diabetes, heart disease, cancer and dementia.

Cardiac nurse Chris Allen, of the British Heart Foundation, said the inactivity rates were a concern. He added: ‘Being inactive can dramatically increase your risk of having a deadly heart attack or stroke.

‘But the good news is it’s never too late to start being more active. It can help you control your weight, reduce blood pressure and cholesterol and improve your mental health.

‘The recommended 150 minutes of physical activity a week may seem like a lot but you can break it down into ten-minute sessions and gradually build up.’ The most inactive regions of the country were South Tyneside, Leicester, Barking and Dagenham in Essex and Rochdale, near Manchester, where nearly a third of adults failed to take 30 minutes of exercise a week.

This compares to 14 per cent in Brighton and 13 per cent in Wokingham, Berkshire.

Douglas Twenefour, deputy head of care at Diabetes UK said: ‘Regular physical activity can help people manage their weight and reduce the risk of serious conditions such as Type 2 diabetes.’ He also recommended sitting down less.

‘It’s never too late to be more active’