Britain is in the grip of an 'inactivity epidemic', with nearly half of adults failing to go for a brisk walk even once a month.

Health bosses say 45 per cent of over-16s are so sedentary they do not manage the health-boosting ten-minute walk.

Public Health England (PHE) officials are especially worried about more than 6 million inactive people aged between 40 and 60 who are putting their busy lives ahead of their health.

Almost half of over 16s are so sedentary they do not even manage a ten-minute walk once per day, according to heath bosses

In a major change of strategy, they said inactive people should start aiming simply to get out for a short walk each day – rather than the more ambitious 150 minutes of exercise a week that has dominated NHS advice for years.

They said the British population was 20 per cent less active now than in the 1960s, and the average person walked 15 miles less a year than they did just two decades ago.

And they warned that cancer, diabetes and heart disease await those who do not get off the sofa.

'The severity of the current physical inactivity epidemic among adults contributes to one in six deaths in the UK and is costing the NHS over £900million a year,' a PHE spokesman said.

At present, the NHS recommends people get at least 150 minutes of moderate activity – including gardening, swimming, cycling or brisk walking – or 75 minutes of vigorous activity such as running or playing sports every week.

But officials accept the target may seem too ambitious for many people, and so are focusing instead on persuading people to get out for a moderate walk for ten minutes every day, and build up to the higher target.

Experts define a brisk walk as a speed of three miles an hour – enough to raise your temperature and make your heart beat faster.

US research suggests taking at least one brisk ten-minute walk a day reduces the risk of early death by 15 per cent, and cuts the chance of cancer, heart disease and poor mental health.

Dr Jenny Harries, deputy medical director at PHE, said activity was essential.

'I know first hand that juggling the priorities of everyday life often means exercise takes a back seat,' she said.

The NHS recommends either 150 minutes of moderate activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week, but many accept this target is too ambitious

'But walking to the shops instead of driving or going for a brisk ten-minute walk on your lunch break each day can add many healthy years to your life.'

Public Health England is targeting middle-aged people with its new campaign, as they are considered to be the busiest and most at risk of heart disease.

It said 41 per cent of the 15.3 million English adults aged between 40 and 60 – equivalent to 6.3 million people – don't manage a brisk ten-minute walk even once a month. But worryingly, the new statistics – based on a survey of 200,000 adults – reveal even younger groups are failing to keep active.

Some 43 per cent of those in their 20s and 30s, and 52 per cent of those in their 70s do not manage a monthly brisk walk.

Go veggie to cut your cholesterol Cutting out meat could help to prevent heart attacks and strokes, research suggests. Researchers at Japan’s Keio University reviewed 49 studies into vegetarian and vegan diets. Study author Susan Levin and colleagues found that switching to vegetarian or vegan diets resulted in a lowering of the total cholesterol score by 0.7. While statins can have a more powerful effect on reducing cholesterol – up to 1.8 – the authors say that for some, switching diet can remove the need for medications which can cause serious side effects. Advertisement

Experts stress that a brisk walk which boosts the heart rate could be more beneficial than a longer leisurely stroll. And officials hope that by persuading more people to walk they could get more people to take up other forms of exercise.

Dr Justin Varney, in charge of adult health and wellbeing at PHE, said: 'Brisk walking is moving like you are late and trying to get somewhere on time. It will raise your heart rate and make you feel a little warm.

'Including ten minutes of brisk walking into your daily routine is often the easiest way to get active and feel the improvement in your health.'

Experts are increasingly worried about the lifestyles of the British population. Some 67 per cent of adult men and 57 per cent of adult women in Britain are overweight – well above the global average.

Of these, 24 per cent of British adults – 12 million people – are considered obese, a vast increase since 1980, when only 16 per cent were in this category.

Professor Naveed Sattar, an expert in metabolic medicine at the University of Oxford, said: 'Like all health messages, the simpler and more achievable the goal, the more likely people will aim for and achieve it.

'There is plentiful evidence that brisk walking on a regular basis will give meaningful health benefits both for the heart and mind and in the battle against weight gain, and it costs nothing.'

Not everyone who fails to manage a monthly brisk walk is completely inactive, however – roughly 60 per cent of those who do not take a walk manage to do at least 30 minutes of weekly exercise in other ways.

Some 45 per cent of adults fail to do a monthly ten-minute walk, yet only 39 per cent miss out on the 150-minute weekly target for moderate exercise.

PHE today releases a free new app – Active 10 – which helps people achieve the ten-minute walk target - which you can find here.