Physical inactivity causes 1 in 10 deaths worldwide, according
to a series of studies released in British medical journal The
Lancet, putting it on par with the dangers of smoking and
obesity. The results also suggest that public health officials
treat this situation as a pandemic. Specifically, Harvard
researchers say, inactivity caused an increase in deaths from
coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, breast and colon
cancers and caused more than 5.3 million deaths in 2008
worldwide. If physical inactivity rates were to go down by even
10 percent to 20 percent worldwide, they say, it could save
between a half-million and 1.3 million lives each year. This
could also raise global life expectancy by almost a year. "This
summer, we will admire the breathtaking feats of athletes
competing in the 2012 Olympic Games," wrote Dr. I-Min Lee, a
Harvard researcher and the lead author of an article
accompanying the series of studies. "Although only the smallest
fraction of the population will attain these heights, the