Lancet: "we should emphasise the harms of inactivity and not merely the benefits of exercise"

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(12)60954-4/fulltext

Stressing harms of physical inactivity to promote exercise

Chi Pang Wen, Xifeng Wu

"Exercise has been called a miracle drug1 that can benefit every part of the body2 and substantially extend lifespan.3 Yet it receives little respect from doctors or society.4 Socially, being inactive is perceived as normal, and in fact doctors order patients to remain on bed rest far more often than they encourage exercise.5 This passive attitude towards inactivity, where exercise is viewed as a personal choice, is anachronistic, and is reminiscent of the battles still being fought over smoking.

Physical inactivity burdens society through the hidden and growing cost of medical care and loss of productivity. Getting the public to exercise is a public health priority because inactive people are contributing to a mortality burden as large as tobacco smoking. To individuals, the failure to spend 15—30 min a day in brisk walking increases the risk of cancer, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes by 20—30%,3, 5 and shortens lifespan by 3—5 years.3 Although the benefits of exercise and the harms of inactivity might seem like two sides of a coin, the benefits message emphasised so far has not worked well for most of the population. In tobacco control, doctors did not emphasise the benefits of non-smoking, but the harms of smoking. Similarly, armed with credible global and national data, we should emphasise the harms of inactivity and not merely the benefits of exercise."