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Health risks of physical inactivity similar to smoking

Nature Reviews Cardiology volume 9, page 492 (2012)Cite this article

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In the study by Lee and co-workers, 'physical inactivity' was defined as not engaging in the equivalent of 2.5 h per week (e.g. 30 min per day, 5 days per week) of moderate-intensity exercise, such as brisk walking. The investigators estimated the prevalence of physical inactivity using data collected by the WHO from 122 countries worldwide. They calculated population-attributable factors (PAFs) associated with physical inactivity, by country, for coronary heart disease (CHD), type 2 diabetes mellitus, breast cancer, and colon cancer. The PAF is the proportion of new cases of a disease that would not occur if the risk factor (i. e. physical inactivity) was removed. Life tables were used to determine potential gains in life expectancy.

Physical inactivity was most prevalent (43.2%) among people who later developed diabetes, and lowest (40.7%) in those who developed breast cancer. The prevalence for CHD was 42.2%. The median PAFs for CHD and all-cause mortality were 5.8% and 9.4%, respectively. By-country analysis showed that the benefits of removing physical inactivity would be greatest in the Eastern Mediterranean region, with median PAFs for CHD and all-cause mortality of 7.8% and 12.5%, respectively. The gain in life expectancy was also highest for this region at a median of 0.95 years.

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ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER

  1. Lee, I. et al. Effect of physical inactivity on major non-communicable diseases worldwide: an analysis of burden of disease and life expectancy. Lancet 380, 219–229 (2012)

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  1. Alexandra King
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King, A. Health risks of physical inactivity similar to smoking. Nat Rev Cardiol 9, 492 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrcardio.2012.115

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