Couch potatoes have twice the risk of an early death, major study suggests

Couch potatoes are twice as likely to die early, a major study suggests. Scientists tracked more than 23,000 adults for more than two decades to assess the impact of exercise on health.

The research found that those with sedentary lifestyles for the whole period saw their risk of early death rise by 99 per cent.

The chance of a deadly heart attack or stroke was 168 per cent higher than that of those who regularly did at least two hours’ exercise a week.

And those who were inactive at the start of the study, but got fit in later life managed to reduce their risk of dying young by around half.

Experts said those who stayed active throughout life fared best.

Lead researcher Dr Trine Moholdt, from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, said: “Physical activity helps us live longer and better lives.”

"Our findings imply that to get the maximum health benefits of physical activity in terms of protection against premature all-cause and cardiovascular death, you need to continue being physically active.

“You can also reduce your risk by taking up physical activity later in life, even if you have not been active before.”

NHS guidance says all adults should get 150 minutes of exercise each week. But four in ten older adults failing to do even 10 minutes of brisk walking a month.

The research, presented at the European Society of Cardiology conference in Paris, reveals doing low levels of exercise also raises death risk.

It found being active for less than two hours weekly raised chances of dying young by 60 per cent compared to fit adults. And it also increased risk if killer heart events by 90 per cent.

Dr Moholdt said people should aim to incorporate exercise into the daily lives, like walking to the shops or using the stairs. And try and get out of breath twice a week.

She added: “An important point to make here is that physical activity levels even below the advised levels will give health benefits. Physical fitness is more important than the amount of exercise.

“Do activities you like and get more movement into your everyday life. For example, walk to

the shops instead of driving, get off the metro a stop early, and use stairs instead of the lift.

“I recommend everyone to get out of breath at least a couple of times each week.”