Welcome to Britain, the nation of couch potatoes. Well, we certainly are if the results of a British Heart Foundation survey are anything to go by.
They polled 2,000 adults and discovered one in 10 of us have done no exercise at all in more than 10 years. A fifth of us haven’t been physically active since our school days and only a quarter of Brits said they had been doing any physical activity in the previous week.
According to the poll, by the time we reach the age of 56, most of us have given up on any pretence of doing any exercise ever again.
The stark facts from the survey appear to be that, despite all the government messages about staying active and getting fit, many people in the UK aren’t doing anything at all to keep physically fit.
Those surveyed blamed long working hours, marriage and having children as the principal reasons for their lack of exercise. A total of 41% said work was the biggest barrier to them getting fit and eating more healthily with 22% pinning the blame on marriage and 33% saying that having kids prevented them from exercising or keeping fit.
According to the survey, getting married causes people to pile on the weight, typically around half a stone.
The fall in fitness levels appears to be a sign of the times if the answers given by the poll participants are anything to go by. Asked how far they walked or cycled ever week when they were a child, the average answer given was 16 miles. Parents were then asked for the same estimate for their own child and the average answer was just six miles.
The British Heart Foundation wants Britons to put their long-term health first and make time for regular physical activity.
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