Study: Inactivity could be more harmful to your health than obesity

Just 20 minutes of walking a day could reduce your risk of early death by as much as 30 percent, according to a new study from the University of Cambridge.

The study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition on Wednesday, found that lack of physical activity may lead to twice as many deaths as obesity does.

Researchers looked at data from 334,161 European men and women who participated in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) Study. The researchers looked at participants' data over 12 years, and they found that a daily 20-minute walk, in which 90 to 110 calories are burned, could reduce the risk of premature death by 16 to 30 percent.

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While the impact of the moderate activity was greatest among those with a healthy weight, overweight participants saw benefits, too. The researchers estimated that while 337,000 out of 9.2 million European deaths were because of obesity, 676,000 deaths were due to lack of physical activity, regardless of weight.