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According to a latest study, Britain tops the list of the laziest people in the Europe. The finding was a part of the new study into global levels of activity.

The study, based on self-reported data, reveals that about two-thirds adults in Britain are at risk of their health due to inactivity for the most part of the day.

The results revealed that about 63 per cent of adults in this country do not meet the health guidelines which recommend a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate exercise 5 times a week or 20 minutes of vigorous activity three times a week.

Doctors warn that people who do not follow the guidelines be at 20 to 30 percent higher risk of diseases like cardiac problems, diabetes and certain types of cancers.

The lethargy in Britain is apparently double the global average and the eighth worst of the 122 countries studied, which collectively account for 89 per cent of the world's population, reported the Telegraph.

Topping the list of laziest countries worldwide was Malta, with 72 per cent of adults classified as physically inactive, followed by Britain at 63per cent, USA at 41 per cent, France at 33per cent and Greece at 16 per cent.

The study further claims that a third of adults in the world and four in five teenagers are physically inactive.

"In most countries, inactivity rises with age and is higher in women than in men. Inactivity is also increased in high-income countries," Pedro Hallal of Universidade Federal de Pelotas in Brazil, who led the study, was quoted as saying by Telegraph.

A separate study by researchers from Harvard Medical School suggests that inactivity, along with smoking and obesity is one of the most major causes that contribute to diseases.

"Physical activity is the most prevalent modifiable risk factor for chronic disease, and this is one of the many reasons we need to work harder to promote the advantages of exercise across the country," Professor Mark Batt, President of the UK Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine said according to the report.

"Physical activity should be ingrained in daily routines and our way of life, but this is simply not the case at the moment," he added.

The study is part of a wider series on physical activity published in the latest issue of the Lancet journal.