More than 20 million people in the UK are physically inactive, according to a new report published by the British Heart Foundation (BHF).

The charity warns that inactivity increases the risk of heart disease and costs the NHS as much as £1.2 billion each year.

The report, Physical Inactivity and Sedentary Behaviour, revealed that this significant proportion of adults in the UK are failing to meet Government guidelines for physical activity, and that women are 36 per cent more likely to be considered physically inactive than men. The statistics also showed regional variations with the north west of England coming out worst as almost half of the adult population – 2.7 million adults – are insufficiently active.

The BHF estimates that the average man in the UK spends a fifth of their lifetime sitting down – the equivalent of 78 days each year. For women this is around 74 days a year, which could lead to potentially life threatening conditions developing. 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.

Dr Mike Knapton, BHF associate medical director, said: “Physical inactivity is one of the most significant global health crises of the moment. 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. Making physical activity easier and more accessible for all is of paramount importance if we are to reduce the burden of inactivity-related ill health.”

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.