One in every 14 deaths is attributed to this common “disease”

I’m always preaching about the life-saving powers of regular exercise. That includes the benefits of a simple daily walk. Because doing something will always be better than sitting still.

In fact, recently published research shows that a sedentary lifestyle—also known as “sitting disease”—is responsible for eight percent of all chronic disease and death. That’s one in every 14 deaths being attributed to inactivity!

This study defined physical inactivity as fewer than the standard recommendation of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise, or 75 minutes of vigorous activity, per week. So, it didn’t look at a completely sedentary lifestyle.

But the data covered 15 different health outcomes in populations from 168 countries—and it’s remarkable that despite vastly different lifestyles in these various countries, lack of exercise remained a leading cause of death.

Of course, researchers also looked at depression, coronary artery disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and bladder, breast, colon, endometrial, esophageal, gastric, and renal cancers. And the evidence points to an association between sitting disease and at least ten of these other chronic diseases.

In other words, exercise and movement need to become the norm—across the globe—not the exception. (Just imagine all the lives and healthcare dollars that could be saved if everyone vowed to stay active.)

So, consider this my plea for you to get up and move. Exercise regularly. Take a walk, jog, or run. Start biking or taking the stairs. Enjoy the sunshine and start gardening/working in the yard.

Whatever you do… just do something. Your life may very well depend on it.