Over 20mn Britons 'physically inactive': Report

London, April 3: More than 20 million people in the UK are physically inactive, according to a report by the British Heart Foundation.

According to the report issued on Sunday, women are 36 per cent more likely than men to be classified as physically inactive -- 11.8 million women compared with 8.3 million men, the BBC reported.

The report defines "inactive" as not achieving the government guidelines for physical activity of 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity a week and strength activities on at least two days a week.

The report found that the average man in the UK spends a fifth of his lifetime sitting -- equivalent to 78 days a year. For women, it is around 74 days a year.

In the UK, physical inactivity contributes to almost one in 10 premature deaths from coronary heart disease, and one in six deaths from any cause.

Mike Knapton, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation, said: "Levels of physical inactivity and sedentary behaviour in the UK remain stubbornly high and, combined, these two risk factors present a substantial threat to our cardiovascular health and risk of early death.

"Evidence shows keeping physically active can reduce the risk of heart and circulatory disease by as much as 35 per cent and risk of early death by as much as 30 per cent."