Get off the sofa! Only 1 in 5 go for a long walk

IT seems we are becoming a nation of couch potatoes after a survey revealed the number of adults taking long walks has fallen by a fifth since 2002.

The average Brit walked 95 miles last year – excluding walks under a mile – a drop of 19 per cent in 14 years.

More alarmingly, one in five of us go on a walk lasting longer than 20 minutes once a year or never at all, according to the study of travel habits by the Department of Transport.

However, walking is still the second most popular way of getting around after driving, with public transport and cycling making up just one in ten journeys. Cycling is in

‘It seems incredible’

with the number of trips last year down by 19 per cent compared with 2002, although overall mileage per bicycle owner was higher.

Car mileage has dropped despite more of us – three in four households – owning our own vehicle. Internet shopping may be responsible with many now relying on deliveries.

Andy Cope, of the walking and cycling charity Sustrans, said: ‘It seems incredible that a fifth of people basically don’t walk.

‘There is a growing concern that the environment is just not conducive to walking.

‘Air quality is a real problem and people just don’t like to walk next to a dirty road.’

But around 65 per cent of respondents said they do go on a walk of more than 20 minutes at least once a week, the annual survey found.