Yes, you read that right! The world economy could be boosted by as much as $100 billion a year if people regularly do some form of exercise like walking or jogging which meets World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines.
Health insurance group Vitality along with research institute RAND Europe conducted a study on the extent to which exercise could impact world economic development.
The think tank found that the world economy could be boosted by as much as $100 billion a year if employees add an extra 15 minutes of walking or one kilometre jogging each day. This will help them stay fit and improve their life expectancy and thereby their productivity, reported Moneycontrol.com.
Lower mortality rates will keep more people alive, working and contributing to the economy for longer.
"The study highlighted a significant relationship between inactivity and productivity loss," Moneycontrol.com quoted Hans Pung, RAND Europe's president as saying.
The WHO recommends that everyone should exercise for at least 150 minutes or exercise vigorously for 75 minutes every week.
The study conducted by RAND and Vitality was based on data from about 120,000 people across seven countries.
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It then modelled and projected the potential economic benefits of physical activity globally and for 23 individual countries.
The study found that if all adults aged between 18 and 64 walked 15 more minutes a day, it could increase world economic output by some $100 billion year on year.
It also found that 40-year-old people could also increase their life expectancy, by 3.2 years, on average, by doing 20 minutes of jogging a day.