Choi Won-suk is a photojournalist at The Korea Times. Before joining the newspaper, he also worked as a photojournalist with AFP and St. Joseph News-Press in Missouri. He spent 13 years in the United States, graduating with a Bachelor of Journalism degree (Cum Laude) from the University of Missouri - Columbia and a Master of Arts in Photography from Ohio University - Athens. Over the past 11 years, Choi covered various news events such as presidential elections, the 2019 North Korea-United States Hanoi Summit and 2022 Qatar World Cup. But above all, Choi believes in local journalism and finds a lot of joy telling life stories of ordinary citizens in small neighborhoods.
Not exercising worse for health than smoking, diabetes and heart disease
Research has found that being fit can lead to a longer life, and that being sedentary is even deadlier than some diseases.
According to a study published in JAMA Network Open, not exercising is more harmful to human health than smoking, diabetes, or heart disease.
Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic studied 122,007 patients from January 1, 1991 to December 31, 2014, making them undergo treadmill testing and later recording mortality rates.
Their findings indicate that cardiorespiratory fitness is linked to a longer lifespan, and that there is no limit to the benefits of exercise. There have been concerns that those who are overactive or exercise excessively are at a higher risk of death, but the research reveals that this is not the case.
When compared to top exercise performers, the risk associated with death for those who were sedentary is 500 percent higher.
The study concludes that a sedentary lifestyle is equivalent to having a major disease. (Next Animation via Reuters)