More than £7bn of savings could be made on the UK's health spending if each person took the government's recommended daily amount of exercise.

The findings, from a new report by the London School of Economics and healthcare charity, Nuffield Health, show that 70 per cent of UK adults do not currently meet the target of 150 minutes of exercise a week.

The report, 12 minutes more..., uses data from the annual Health Survey for England and suggest that if each inactive UK citizen would do just 12 minutes of exercise each day the UK could save £7bn in costs of associated NHS treatments, welfare and loss of earnings.

Health benefits attainable by simply moving more include decreased levels of cholesterol and risk of high blood pressure; cutting the risk of lifestyle related diseases - such as Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease - as well as better control of body weight.

Active people are not only 7 per cent less likely to be obese, but they also reduce their risk of poor mental health by 6 per cent.

Dr Andrew Jones, Nuffield Health's managing director of corporate wellbeing, said the study clearly demonstrates that in an age of austerity, by simply increasing the amount of physical activity undertaken, a positive impact could be achieved.

He said: "Health benefits for active people are priceless, but with increased pressures both in the workplace and at home, as well as the struggling economy, we, as employers have a responsibility to help our workforce to be as resilient, fit and well as possible.

"Although helping business to develop sustainable practices is important, it is the productivity and success of our people that has the greatest impact. Poor mental health can be very isolating, support is crucial, but wellbeing programmes and prevention can do so much more."

TO read more about the 12 minutes more... report, click here.