Inactivity 'killing as many as smoking', page 1

This comes from the BBC today, and I am not sure how to take this:

A lack of exercise is now causing as many deaths as smoking across the world, a study suggests.

The report, published in the Lancet to coincide with the build-up to the Olympics, estimates that about a third of adults are not doing enough physical activity, causing 5.3m deaths a year.

That equates to about one in 10 deaths from diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and breast and colon cancer.

Researchers said the problem was now so bad it should be treated as a pandemic.

And they said tackling it required a new way of thinking, suggesting the public needed to be warned about the dangers of inactivity rather than just reminded of the benefits of it.

The team of 33 researchers drawn from centres across the world also said governments needed to look at ways to make physical activity more convenient, affordable and safer.

www.bbc.co.uk...

By all accounts we should not take this news lightly! This new research apparantely comes from very trusted sources, with the Lancet being one of the most trusted medical journals in the world.

I really do not know how to take this. I can see how over-eating, coupled with inactivity, can lead to obesity and heart disease, and I certainly know that I feel great after a good workout. In fact, the benefits of exercise are numerous. It is the next part of the news article which concerns me:

From Monday to Saturday, the streets of the Colombian capital of Bogota are packed with cars.

The city - one of the largest in South America - is a teeming metropolis, home to more than seven million people.

But on a Sunday vehicles are nowhere to be seen. Instead, the streets are taken over by pedestrians, thanks to Ciclovia, a traffic-free streets initiative run by the city authorities.

The scheme, backed by successive mayors, has been running in one guise or another since the mid-1970s.

It now covers nearly 100km of roads in the centre of the city on Sundays and public holidays.

So it would seem that a ban on cars in Bogota has lead to people being more active. This is a good thing, but will this model now be implemented in other cities accross the world? Is this a good thing? Also, check this out:

It is recommended that adults do 150 minutes of moderate exercise, such as brisk walking, cycling or gardening, each week.

Interesting. This number has been quoted by scientists for years. However, have you noticed that Royal Families all over the world, particularly the British Royal Family, have a huge life expectancy, and I do not think that each member is exercising for 150 minutes each week. The queen on a treadmill? I can't see it.

The British Royal Family have such long life expectancies because they all practise homeopathy: a discipline that mainstream science foolishly brands as stupid.

reply to post by conspiracy88

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I'm certain that those with depression have a bone to pick with you. It is difficult to get out of bed let alone roam the rest of the house.

Exercise is good for me, yes, but I have trouble working past my depression to do something as simple as going to the store.

Try not to be so judgmental. Some of us have good reasons for our idleness. We fight them with pharmaceuticals. It's the best we can do.

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