Brits Consider Themselves Healthy but are actually Couch Potatoes

Four in ten Brits reckon they are healthy – but in reality are couch potatoes, a shock report revealed yesterday.
 
Researchers found that despite best efforts, so called “healthy” adults snack on crisps, drink too much and munch on takeaways and ready meals each week from the comfort of their sofa.
 
They are also glued to the television for three hours each night, choose the escalator over the stairs and deem ‘doing the laundry’ as exercise.
 
Remarkably, three in ten who said they were healthy in fact emerged as overweight and need to shed more than a stone.
 
The research was conducted by allabouthealth.org.uk which offers advice and online tools to help people with busy lifestyles manage their own health and identify what support they can receive from their local pharmacy.

All About Health pharmacist, Ajit Malhi said: “The results show an alarming gap in how healthy the average Brit thinks they are compared with how healthy they actually are.
 
“While millions of Brits consider themselves to be doing the right thing, it is far from the truth and this highlights the nation’s tendency to turn a blind eye.
 
“Adults are increasing the chance of becoming ill if they continue with an unhealthy lifestyle and the majority are falling short as to what is required – eating too little fruit and vegetables, drinking too much and doing very little exercise.
 
“It's alarming that people need the final warning of a heart attack or stroke to improve their lifestyle. The research showed that even the death of a loved one wouldn't be the wake-up call that the majority of people need to get back on track.
 
“The first step is finding out how healthy you are and this isn't complicated. It's just making simple checks such as monitoring your weight and getting your blood pressure and cholesterol checked out on a regular basis.
 
“So whether it’s a case of denial or ignorance, your local All About Health pharmacist can help address disillusioned healthy lifestyles with a simple health MOT and follow up advice.  All you have to do is walk in off the street without the need for an appointment.”

The study into 3,000 Brits aged between 18 and 65 quizzed them on their eating and drinking habits in addition to their attitudes and behaviour towards healthy living.
 
It found one in 20 consider themselves to be ‘very healthy’, while 42 per cent classed themselves as ‘normal’ and 12 per cent said they were ‘unhealthy’ or ‘very unhealthy’.
 
The study showed that a large chunk of the population who claim to be ‘healthy’ eats just two portions of fruit and vegetables a day and snacks twice - with half of those polled devouring biscuits, crisps and chocolate bars to suppress their appetite instead of fruit and nuts.
 
One in ten does NO form of exercise, while the majority work up a sweat three times a week and for 34 minutes on each occasion.
 
They’re also most likely to drive to work, with just one in six choosing to walk any distance and one in twenty choosing pedal power.
 
They then spend eight hours sat down behind their desk and often don’t get up or go out at lunch.
 
But their unhealthy living isn’t limited to the confines of the office – they eat out once a week, order one takeaway and stick one ready meal in the microwave.
 
Nearly half (45 per cent) skip more than one meal a week, but one in five over-compensate by having double portions and pile their plates high three times or more.
 
They would also get the car out of the garage to travel just one mile to the shops to pick up a paper and 45 per cent would opt for the escalator or lift should they be faced with a set of stairs.
 
One in ten gulp down more than 20 units of alcohol a week and one in seven said they usually try to ‘avoid all forms of exercise’.

When it comes to working out, one in ten said they haven’t done anything in four weeks, while one in twenty haven’t sweated for six months or more.

The report found that only a major health scare like a heart attack would trigger four in ten Brits to overhaul their lifestyle and one in ten would do so if it meant better sex.

One in five would hit the treadmill and get into shape if they were on the receiving end of a nasty comment by a colleague or friend.

Half of adults said there came a point in their life when they started to worry about their health, which emerged as 30.

The survey also found one in twenty ‘can’t remember’ the last time they went for a check-up at the doctor’s and it has been two years or more for a quarter since they had their blood pressure looked at.

Just three in ten have had their cholesterol checked or know whether they have diabetes and worryingly, a quarter have no idea how much they weigh.

A similar number couldn’t identify a ‘normal’ BMI and thought the average Brit should only have to take 6,000 steps – 4,000 less than the recommended amount.