Inactivity, a Pandemic More Damaging than Smoking

The health risks of inactivity have been found to be more hazardous than smoking and obesity. According to a new study, scientists found that inactivity was tied to 1 in 10 deaths globally in 2008.

Harvard researchers estimated that failure to do at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week contributed to almost 10 percent of diseases such as colon cancer, breast cancer, type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease.

Modern conveniences, including cars and computers, have contributed to the rise in inactivity while tobacco exposure in the U.S. has declined over the last decade. “The response to physical inactivity has been incomplete, unfocused, and most certainly understaffed and underfunded, particularly compared with other risk factors for non-communicable diseases,“ said Dr. Harold W. Kohl, of The University of Texas Health School of Public Health.

Read the full ABC News Article