Getting lazy Brits to walk just 5,000 steps three times a week ‘could save NHS £15billion a year’

Getting inactive people to walk just 5,000 steps three times a week could save the NHS £15bn, according to new research.

Research has found that replacing a lazy lifestyle with a moderate amount of activity can make a big difference to a nation’s overall health.

Research conducted by insurance company Vitality and the London School of Economics suggests that incorporating regular exercise can add up to three years to your life expectancy.

They mapped the behavior and habits of more than a million people in the UK and South Africa over a 10-year period.

Approximately 35 per cent of the UK population is classified as inactive, which contributes to worsening health outcomes, leading to increases in non-communicable diseases such as type 2 diabetes, and often leading to hospital admissions.

Researchers found that if half of people took 5,000 steps a week, it could save the NHS an estimated £4 billion a year through fewer hospital admissions.

If someone who was not regularly active started walking 5,000 steps three times a week, this would rise to £15 billion.

Significant positive effects were seen across all age groups, but particularly among older generations.

Researchers found that people over 65 who regularly walked 7,500 steps at least three times a week had a 52% reduced risk of death.

This was significantly larger than the 38 percent decline seen in people aged 45 to 65 and the 27 percent decline in the total population.

Researchers have found that maintaining a healthy physical activity habit (taking at least 5,000 steps three times a week for two years) can add two and a half years to a man’s life and three years to a woman’s life. discovered.

It also led to a lower incidence of type 2 diabetes and a 40% reduction in the risk of death for people who already had diabetes.

Professor Joanne Costafonte, from the London School of Economics, said: “The findings of this study support policies that promote prevention in public health and build the power of healthy habits to improve individual and collective health outcomes. “This is a clear call to action for planners.”

“Successful habit-based interventions can increase life expectancy, generate significant savings for public health services, improve productivity, and reduce mental health, social isolation, and non-communicable diseases such as cancer and type 2. It helps address the significant long-term challenges posed by “diabetes.” ‘