Doctors have been urged to play an active role in encouraging their patients to exercise following the publication of a report that showed almost a third of adults over the age of 65 do not even achieve 30 minutes of exercise in total over a week.

The report by the UK’s Academy of Medical Royal Colleges says that physical activity need not mean joining an expensive gym or hiring a personal trainer.

Instead it calls on doctors to encourage their patients to make a start with regular activities that are free and easy to do; a brisk walk, dancing, cycling, even sex, can all bring dramatic health benefits, it argues.

Professor Dame Sue Bailey, Chair of the Academy said, ‘This is about people and their doctors believing that the small effort involved is worth it because they are worth it. There really is a miracle cure staring us in the face, one which too many patients and doctors have quite simply forgotten about. ‘