I WANT you to promise me something: Once you’ve read this article, you’ll go out and spend a brisk 20 minutes walking. Because walking daily can add years to your life, scientists have discovered. Research at Cambridge University reveals that lack of exercise kills twice as

many people as obesity. The great news is that the less fit you are, the more you stand to gain by being active.

And I’m going to show you how easy it is to motivate yourself to make exercise a pleasure, not a chore. Just 20 minutes a day of pumping the blood round your body a bit quicker by brisk walking can cut the risk of premature death by almost a third if you’re a healthy weight.

If you’re overweight, that 20 minutes a day could reduce the risk of dying early by 16 per cent. Ulf Ekelund, who led the study, said: “This is a simple message: just a small amount of physical activity each day could have substantial health benefits for people who are physically inactive.

“Although we found just 20 minutes would make a difference, we should really be looking to do more than this – physical activity has many proven health benefits and should be an important part of our daily life.”

 

A recent survey found that a third of people barely manage 30 minutes walking a week, even including trips to the shops, work or school. So here’s how to get more active.

One of the biggest problems people face as well as lack of time is lack of motivation, and of course motivation comes from your unconscious. 

You might be surprised how easy it is to retune your mind to have a different view of exercise. Walking will become great fun! You need to hit a target of 10,000 steps a day (build up to it gradually, don’t rush things) and these days you can put a free app on your phone that adds it all up for you.