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Americans Blow $27.8 Billion a Year by Being Lazy

Around the globe, the U.S. accounts for two-fifths of the $67 billion in losses tied to physical inactivity.
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Photographer: Getty Images
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It’s been deemed one of the 10 leading risk factors for death, but it turns out that physical inactivity also comes with a hefty tab—$67.5 billion, to be exact.

The first study quantifying the global costs of sloth was published Thursday in the scientific journal The Lancet, finding what researchers labeled a conservative estimate of the economic burden caused by inactivity.