It has been scientifically established by means of a 12-year study of over 300,000 people conducted by the University of Cambridge that inactivity is responsible for about twice as many deaths and obesity.

“But the two go together, right?” I have been met with this response from nearly every single person with whom I have shared this statistic. I have long been aware that the two do not go together, from my own personal experience and that of others close to me. However, it was nice to finally have scientific evidence back me up. After all, if inactivity and obesity nearly always occurred together, this study would have been impossible to conduct.

On the contrary, a group of researchers followed over 300,000 persons for 12 years carefully monitoring activity levels, waistlines, and deaths. The greatest single cause of early death in all weight categories (from slim to obese) was consistently inactivity. In fact, twice as many people died early from inactivity than those that died from obesity. Not only are the two distinguishable, but they have drastically different effects.

So what are we to do with all this information? MOVE! Yes, move for movement’s sake! While most of us (including me) want to look good, a desire to avoid obesity—a negative motivation—will not only psychologically fail us, but now we know will provide less benefit physically than a desire to be healthy!

So let’s get moving! Find the joy of movement, good health, and longevity!

Share your experiences of joyful movement in the comments below!