Not exercising worse for health than smoking, diabetes, and heart disease

Research has found that being fit can lead to a longer life, and that being sedentary is even deadlier than some diseases.

According to a study published in JAMA Network Open, not exercising is more harmful to human health than smoking, diabetes, or heart disease.

Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic studied 122,007 patients from January 1, 1991 to December 31, 2014, making them undergo treadmill testing and later recording mortality rates.

Their findings indicate that cardiorespiratory fitness is linked to a longer lifespan, and that there is no limit to the benefits of exercise. There have been concerns that those who are overactive or exercise excessively are at a higher risk of death, but the research reveals that this is not the case.

When compared to top exercise performers, the risk associated with death for those who were sedentary is 500 percent higher.

The study concludes that a sedentary lifestyle is equivalent to having a major disease. (Next Animation via Reuters)