ALMOST a third of adults in Southampton do no more than 30 minutes of physical activity a week.

A total of 33.2 per cent in the city and 25.7 per cent in Hampshire only manage to clock up half an hour or less of heartbeat-raising exercise every seven days, new figures from Public Health England have revealed.

Now the organisation has warned that adults could be at risk of cancer, heart disease and poor mental health.

The current physical inactivity epidemic contributes to one in six deaths in the UK and is costing the NHS hundreds of millions per year.

Public Health England is launching a new campaign encouraging people to do 10 minutes of brisk walking every day.

The health body has produced a new mobile phone app called Active 10 to remind people to get their exercise in.

Evidence has shown ten minutes of walking at a ‘brisk’ pace can reduce the risk of early death by a sixth.

Angela Baker, deputy director, health and wellbeing for Public Health England South East, said: “Whether walking to work, stepping out at lunchtime or taking the dog for a walk - there are many ways to incorporate a brisk walk into your daily life and we hope this app will help people to do this.”

Dr Zoe Williams said: “Every GP should talk to their patients about the benefits of brisk walking and recommend the Active 10 app.”