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IT’S OFFICIAL: WE’RE SO LAZY THAT INACTIVITY IS NOW OUR 3RD LEADING KILLER #health #trends

Guess what is now the third leading killer or human beings? Ahead of cancer… ahead of tobacco… Can’t guess what it is? It’s INACTIVITY.

That’s right. And it’s now official: human beings are so lazy that inactivity is our third leading killer (after heart disease and stroke – which, arguably, can also be correlated very highly with inactivity). I really am having trouble even wrapping my brain around this report. 5.3 million people die every year (over 14,000 people/day) simply from not moving around.

This is both staggering and sobering. And it SHOULD be a wake-up call. If you don’t move around, you will die. Period. The original report was published in the LANCET JOURNAL – “Effect of physical inactivity on major non-communicable diseases worldwide: an analysis of burden of disease and life expectancy” – you can find it by clicking here.

But here’s what really struck me. Depressed me, really. CBS News‘ report on the matter – Inactivity Tied to 5.3 Million Deaths Worldwide, Similar To Smoking – was actually accompanied by a picture tutorial called “6 Ways To Sit Less Every Day.” Really? Are we not only so lazy, but so dumb that we don’t know how to move around without a “how-to”? Um, wow.

Here’s the kicker: you don’t have to be training for a marathon to be designated ‘active.’ The threshold here is 30 minutes of activity, 5 times per week. Apparently there are 14,520 dead people EVERY DAY (over 100,000/week) who just couldn’t seem to find 2.5 hours each week to not be on their butts. Being active can be taking a walk. Or playing tennis. Or hiking with your kids. Or gardening. It does not have to involve the latest crossfit craze or a triathlon.

C’mon folks, we can do better than this. Frankly, you’re gonna have to. Because if you don’t it turns out you’ll be dead.


Image by: EMDOT on Flickr, used by Creative Commons License

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