By Jeremy Laurance, Health Editor, Independent, 10 October 2007
Run, don’t walk, if you want to maximise your chances of living a long and healthy life – and don’t be misled by what the Government tells you, researchers say today.
In a direct challenge to the official advice that moderate exercise such as brisk walking is best for health, sports experts say guidelines are sending out the wrong message and must be changed.
A survey by researchers from the universities of Exeter and Brunel found more than half of men (56 per cent) and over two thirds of women (71 per cent) believe moderate activities, such as walking, are most beneficial for health, counter to the evidence.
Gary O’Donovan, exercise physiologist at the University of Exeter and lead author of the research, published in Preventive Medicine, said: “Time and time again, the largest and most robust studies have shown that vigorously active individuals live longer and enjoy a better quality of life than moderately active individuals and couch potatoes.