Inactivity Caries Higher Risk of Premature Death than Obesity:Study

Not getting exercise every day could be worse than being obese, a new study claims.

The study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that 676,000 deaths could be prevented every year in Europe if exercise was part of daily routine. Comparatively, tackling obesity could prevent just about 337,000 deaths, BBC reported.

"This is a simple message: just a small amount of physical activity each day could have substantial health benefits for people who are physically inactive. Although we found that just 20 minutes would make a difference, we should really be looking to do more than this - physical activity has many proven health benefits and should be an important part of our daily life," said Professor Ulf Ekelund at University of Cambridge, in a news release.

Researchers made their findings based on data obtained from 334,161 Europeans who participated in European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study. The research team measured body mass index and also recorded self-reported physical activity information. During the 12-year study between 1992 and 2000, 21, 438 participants died. Analysis of deaths showed that the risk of premature death was highest in the group that reported being inactive. Both obesity and inactive carry higher risk of death due to cardiovascular disease.

The team concluded that 20 minutes of exercise every day could cut risk of premature death by 16 to 30 percent.

While stressing importance of exercise, researchers also said that obesity should not be ignored.

"Helping people to lose weight can be a real challenge, and whilst we should continue to aim at reducing population levels of obesity, public health interventions that encourage people to make small but achievable changes in physical activity can have significant health benefits and may be easier to achieve and maintain," said Professor Nick Wareham, Director of the Medical Research Unit at Cambridge.