COUCH potatoes double their risk of dying young, a major study has found.
Scientists followed more than 23,000 adults for two decades and discovered those who were active throughout gave themselves the best chance of survival.
People who were inactive for the entire 20 years were 99 per cent more likely to die prematurely than those who did two or more hours of exercise a week.
And couch potatoes’ chances of having a fatal heart attack or stroke were 168 per cent higher.
However, taking up exercise after a lifetime of inactivity cut the risk of dying young by around half.
Lead researcher Dr Trine Moholdt, of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, said: “You can reduce your risk of premature death by taking up physical activity, even if you have not been active before.”
He was presenting his results to the European Society of Cardiology’s conference in Paris.
The NHS advises all adults to do 150 minutes of exercise a week.
But four in ten older adults fail to do even ten minutes of brisk walking a month.
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