More than 560,000 adults aged 40–60 in the South West do not achieve ten minutes of continuous brisk walking over the course of a month and are missing out on health benefits, according to a new evidence paper from Public Health England (PHE).   

The findings also reveal how lifestyles have changed over time, showing that people in the UK are 20% less active now than they were in the 1960s and on average walk 15 miles less a year than two decades ago.

The sedentary nature of modern, busy lives makes it difficult for many to find the time for enough exercise to benefit their health, say the authors.

PHE’s new One You physical activity campaign is encouraging adults to build 10 minutes continuous brisk walking into their day as a simple way to improve their health.

The ‘Active 10’ app has been developed to show how much brisk walking a person is doing each day and how to incorporate more of it into their lifestyles.