Scots a sitting target for disease

SCOTS are risking an early death by spending nearly three months of the year sitting down, say researchers.

Our couch potato lifestyles are said to raise the risk of obesity, cancer and coronary heart disease.

The warning follows a study by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) charity which says 1.6 million Scots are physically inactive.

Its report shows almost four out of ten adults in Scotland fail to do the recommended amount of activity, with the issue estimated to contribute to a UK-wide NHS cost of £1.2billion a year.

Tam Fry, chairman of the National Obesity Forum, said: ‘Official guidelines recommend just 20 minutes a day of exercise.

I can’t believe people can’t find time in the day for a brisk walk, when they spend hours every night sitting in front of the TV. We have just become lazy.’

The BHF estimates the average man north of the Border spends the equivalent of 84 days each year seated. For women, the figure is only slightly lower, at 81 days.

With more jobs involving sitting at a computer and longer hours, it is hoped the figures will shock Scots into action. BHF has launched the MyMarathon initiative, encouraging Scots to run a marathon distance over a month for the charity.

BHF associate medical director Dr Mike Knapton said: ‘Levels of physical inactivity and sedentary behaviour remain stubbornly high and these two risk factors present a substantial threat to our cardiovascular health and risk of early death.’

A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘Our investment in school sport has seen an increase in children doing two hours or periods of PE per week from less than 10 per cent in 2004-5 to 8 per cent in 2016.’