BBC 17 September 2007 [David Haslam]
[abridged]

Most UK adults are so unwilling to exercise that not even the threat of an early death is enough to get them off the sofa, a survey suggests.  Only 38% of people questioned in a YouGov poll said that they would do more exercise of their life depended on it.  British Heart Foundation figures show only a third of people manage to enough exercise to achieve the minimum recommended amount.  Experts warned inactivity is dangerous even in those who are a healthy weight.

 

Among the 2,100 people surveyed, brisk walking was found to be the favourite way of getting exercise – before dancing, swimming or going to the gym.  However, only 4% said that they found exercise fun.  A greater inspiration was exercising to change body shape, particularly among women and young adults. 

David Hallam said it made for depressing reading b8ty confirmed that it had been shown in clinical trials , even where those who had a heart attack did not change their lifestyles. “ Children instinctively exercise when left to their own devices, but they don’t because they are stopped from doing that by the school curriculum and parents scared of child abductors and murderers lurking on every corner.  If it doesn’t become a habit you’re not going to word hard to go against the trend and introduce it as an adult “   He added that exercise could be incorporated into everyday life.  “ |Physical activity and obesity are two different risk factors, so even if you’re lean, if you’re inactive, you increase your risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease “ he said.