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Working Out May Increase Your Life Expectancy

Being sedentary is deadlier than being obese, a new study says.

Working out, for the average American, just isn’t an easy thing to do.

We are juggling a lot — school, kids, work, family — and finding the time to exercise seems out of grasp. But a new study warns that if we want to live longer, we must find the time.

Living a sedentary life, regardless of what you weigh, may be twice as deadly than being obese, according to the report. But here’s the thing: This doesn’t mean you have to live in the gym.

"Efforts to encourage small increases in physical activity in inactive individuals likely have significant health benefits," said lead author Ulf Ekelund told Health Day News.

Researchers from the Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge suggest that just taking a 20-minute fast walk a day can make a difference. In calories, this can be burning off a mere 90-110 daily to slash our risk of early death from 16-30 percent.

While people who were more fit saw a bigger benefit, across the board, overweight and obese people saw a benefit as well. And while the goal for many of us is to lose weight, exercise is a great way of getting folks there. So it’s a win-win.

Not only does past data show that African-Americans tend to die sooner than whites, but we are more likely to be obese and less likely to work out regularly. 

Granted, there are a lot of factors that we cannot control that play into why these disparities exist — poverty, lack of access to quality health care, unsafe neighborhoods to exercise in and food deserts — something as simple as walking in place in our bedrooms can save our lives.

Need more inspiration? Take a look at these 15-minute, 10-minute and 5-minute workouts you can do at home to get you started. Or check out the Radius Fitness, the Netflix for working out at home.

Good luck! You got this. 

BET Health News - We go beyond the music and entertainment world to bring you important medical information and health-related tips of special relevance to Blacks in the U.S. and around the world. Click here to subscribe to our newsletter. 

(Photo: Michael Svoboda/Getty Images)

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