Health Zone: Not Exercising Is As Bad As Smoking – Scientists

You probably thought smoking was the worst habit that anybody could engage in, well, new evidence suggests that lack of exercise is as bad as smoking tobacco.

Scientists now say that direct and passive tobacco smoking, which has been linked to cancer of the lungs, premature death and sudden infant syndrome is just as bad as a life without exercise.

It’s hard to imagine that being inactive could be comparable to smoking, but it is. According to researchers, people who do not exercise are also at risks of terminal diseases such as cancer, hypertension, kidney and liver failure.

A new study published in The Lancet estimates that as many as 5.3 million deaths around the world were caused by physical inactivity in 2013; while cigarette smoking is estimated to have caused about five million deaths globally each year.

It states, “We know that as soon as somebody starts moving, their blood sugar improves, their blood cholesterol and triglycerides improve, and that’s very consistent. Every time you move, it gets better. Every time you don’t, it gets worse.

Speaking on the findings of the researchers, Family health physician, Dr. Segun Agbaje, states that research has shown that six per cent of heart disease, seven per cent of type 2 diabetes, and about 10 per cent of colon and breast cancers are linked to lack of activity.

Agbaje explains that people who do not exercise regularly are more likely to gain weight or become obese – a condition that is fueling type 2diabetes, some cancers and heart diseases.