The Miracle Pill
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The Miracle Pill
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Narrated by:
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Peter Walker
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By:
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Peter Walker
About this listen
'This book is pretty life-changing – encouraging, optimistic, rich with information. It got me off the sofa.' Jeremy Vine
'This is such a lovely, ambitious, fascinating book. Essential lockdown reading. It allows us to reimagine our world and our bodies: we can move more.' Dr Xand van Tulleken, TV presenter
'Truly uplifting' Chris Boardman
What is the 'miracle pill', the simple lifestyle change with such enormous health benefits that, if it was turned into a drug, would be the most valuable drug in the world? The answer is movement and the good news is that it's free, easy and available to everyone.
Four in ten British adults, and 80% of children, are so sedentary they don’t meet even the minimum recommended levels for movement. What’s going on?
The answer is simple: activity became exercise. What for centuries was universal and everyday has become the fetishised pursuit of a minority, whether the superhuman feats of elite athletes, or a chore slotted into busy schedules. Yes, most people know physical activity is good for us. And yet 1.5 billion people around the world are so inactive they are at greater risk of everything from heart disease to diabetes, cancer, arthritis and depression, even dementia. Sedentary living now kills more people than obesity, despite receiving much less attention, and is causing a pandemic of chronic ill health many experts predict could soon bankrupt the NHS.
How did we get here? Daily, constant exertion was an integral part of humanity for millennia, but in just a few decades movement was virtually designed out of people’s lives through transformed workplaces, the dominance of the car, and a built environment which encourages people to be static.
In a world now also infiltrated by ubiquitous screens, app-summoned taxis and shopping delivered to your door, it can be shocking to realise exactly how sedentary many of us are. A recent study found almost half of middle-aged English people don’t walk continuously for ten minutes or more in an average month. At current trends, scientists forecast, the average US adult will expend little more energy in an average week than someone who spent all their time in bed.
This book is a chronicle of this very modern and largely unexplored catastrophe, and the story of the people trying to turn it around. Through interviews with experts in various fields - doctors, scientists, architects and politicians - Peter Walker explores how to bring more movement into the modern world and, most importantly, into your life. Forget the gym, introducing quick and easy lifestyle changes can slow down the ageing process and even reverse many illnesses and increase mental wellbeing.
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Critic reviews
"This book is pretty life-changing - encouraging, optimistic, rich with information. It got me off the sofa." (Jeremy Vine)
"This is such a lovely, ambitious, fascinating book. Essential lockdown reading. It allows us to reimagine our world and our bodies: we can move more." (Dr Xand van Tulleken, TV presenter)
"Truly uplifting." (Chris Boardman)
What listeners say about The Miracle Pill
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- David B
- 11-02-21
Really inspiring
I have already made some changes in what I do every day based on the book
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Stephen
- 19-01-22
Good and has motivated me to exercise more.
Very good, well researched, explained, and read, and it has motivated me to exercise more.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- James Davies
- 14-02-21
Interesting and accessible
Excellent introduction to the health benefits of active living, narrated by the author.
Accessible for the average listener, without being too heavy on the academic.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- MAH
- 31-01-21
Why we need to move more
A great analysis of how we have become sedentary by design. The need to move more, which lockdown has brought even more to the forefront, has become more important than ever. Great ideas on how we can change as individuals and society.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Canterbury
- 26-08-21
Read this, everyone ! Especially those with kids
I am struggling to get myself outside to walk for 5 minutes, however I do remember the joy of the bicycle when I was 13, and how it meant riding it to school then work meant an end to the yearly brochitis, so I say read this book, everyone !
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Katrina&andthewaves
- 24-07-21
Some Interesting Facts
I listened to this book on my drive to work and have taken on board some of the advice that I had just not thought about before. I have a desk job but get up more often now, walk to the furthest toilets, go for a walk each evening and it feels good. Trying to get through to my gaming son who also has a desk job is not so easy! I think there will be some challenging times ahead for todays youth.
I have given 1 star for performance as I really didn't enjoy Peter Walkers narration. Too quiet, spoken too fast and he somehow made the words clipped. I have listened to many audio books and have never had this problem before.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Dan
- 29-09-22
Excellent
Varied, interesting and well researched account of benefits of physical activity. Great interviews relayed with world experts. Good for a beginner but excellent for people well versed in this literature. And a great ironic name….thanks and well done Peter
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- Chris Young
- 08-02-21
An excellent book, well researched and argued.
Thoroughly enjoyed this and highly recommend to anyone looking at this review!
Eye opening stats and data as you’re guided through the history, reasoning and recent science of human activity and its enormous benefits for everyone even with small changes each day.
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- Lundy87
- 05-09-21
Essential reading
Reality check regarding our activity levels for all of us! Researched and explained brilliantly.
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- Jade Graham
- 12-08-21
A useful reminder about the power of activity.
It may well be that only people who are already interested in the health benefits of moving their bodies will listen to this audible book, but even so it is a useful reminder as to why we should keep this daily habit alive - even as we age - in order to ward off chronic ill health.
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