Four in ten adults don’t walk enough
Over 6 million adults between the ages of 40 and 60 are reportedly not walking for ten minutes per month and missing out on associated health benefits. The report from Public Health England also reveals how our lifestyles have changed over recent decades; people are 20% less active than 50 years ago, largely due to our busy, sedentary modern lives.
The NHS Active 10 initiative aims to help people build more walking into their lives as a way of improving health and wellbeing. Active 10 is especially for those who have ery inactive lifestyles. The programme includes a free app, which shows how much brisk walking – that’s around 3mph – individuals are achieving and tips to become more active.
Taking at least one brisk, short walk a day has been shown to reduce the risk of early death by 15% and can lead to health benefits including a lowered risk of type two diabetes, cardiovascular disease, dementia and some cancers.
The severity of the current physical inactivity epidemic amongst adults contributes to one in six deaths in the UK and is costing the NHS almost one billion pounds per year.
