Get off that sofa! Half of Brits do no exercise at all

WE have been warned to exercise more in the face of an obesity epidemic.

But nearly half of British adults are ignoring the advice, a survey reveals.

Some 44 per cent confess to being couch potatoes and doing no exercise whatsoever.

Yet 47 per cent of people agree they are ‘slightly overweight’ and 15 per cent admit they are ‘considerably overweight’.

The NHS recommends that adults do 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week in a bid to combat obesity, which it is estimated will cost the country £50billion a year by 2050 as levels of diabetes, heart disease and cancer soar.

While it is predicted that twothirds of the population will be overweight by 2030, the survey found that 52 per cent of men and 60 per cent of women insist they are health conscious. The poll of 2,000 people aged 18 to 60 was conducted by David Lloyd Leisure to mark the launch of a partnership with the British Heart Foundation.

A spokeswoman for David Lloyd Leisure said: ‘We know that people are more aware than ever of the importance of leading a healthy and active lifestyle but, in spite of this, our research shows that more than four in ten people are still doing no exercise whatsoever, which is a matter of real concern.

‘The study also revealed some marked differences between men and women. While women claim to be more health conscious it’s the men who are actually exercising more.’

Chris Allen, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: ‘There is no doubt that people who are less physically active are more likely to be at risk of having a heart attack or stroke.

‘It is therefore a concern that over half of British adults admit to doing no exercise.

‘Even short, ten-minute bursts of physical activity can make a real difference.’

The poll follows research in May which revealed that a startling proportion of overweight and obese people have convinced themselves that they are perfectly healthy.

The figures, gathered by the European Association for the Study of Obesity, suggested that 21 per cent of overweight Britons believe they are of a healthy weight, compared with 16 per cent in France and 10 per cent in Italy.

And more than a third of Britons who are clinically obese believe they are merely a bit overweight.