What's Worse: Smoking or Not Exercising?

It's no secret that smoking is bad for your health. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 480,000 people in the United States die from smoking-related disease each year. But while smoking is often viewed as the leading preventable cause of death among adults, lack of exercise could be equally if not worse for your health.

About the Study

According to a new study published in the medical journal JAMA, not exercising is actually worse for your health than smoking, diabetes and heart disease. Of course, that's a pretty bold statement that attests to the importance of staying physically active. So, how did researchers come to the conclusion that not exercising is worse for your health than smoking, diabetes and heart disease?

For the study, researchers followed more than 122,000 adults from 1991 to 2014. All participants were asked to exercise using a treadmill, though the rates at which they exercise varied. At the end of the study, researchers found that participants who exercised the least were five times more likely to die from all causes than participants who exercised the most.

"Cardiorespiratory fitness is inversely associated with long-term mortality with no observed upper limit of benefit. Extremely high aerobic fitness was associated with the greatest survival and was associated with benefit in older patients and those with hypertension. Cardiorespiratory fitness is a modifiable indicator of long-term mortality, and health care professionals should encourage patients to achieve and maintain high levels of fitness," wrote the study's authors.

How to Squeeze More Exercise Into Your Life

Most people know the importance of exercising, but many simply don't have the free time to do it. If you're crunched for time in your daily life, though, there are ways to incorporate more exercise into your regular weekly routine. The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends about 75 to 150 minutes of aerobic exercise per week, so you should strive for these numbers.

A simple way for office workers to get more exercise is to take the stairs instead of the elevator. Climbing stairs is an excellent, easy form of aerobic exercise that burns calories and fat while also building muscle in the process. And even if you don't work in an office, you can always go for a walk during your lunch break to squeeze in more exercise.

At home, consider working out or exercising in front of the TV. If you watch TV shows or movies in the evenings, this alone can easily help you meet the AHA's exercise recommendations.