In the early part of the last century, doctors believed in the ‘rate of living theory’, which basically stated that the heart is genetically programmed to beat a certain number of times and then you were finished. Using them up during exercise was just a quick way to an early grave. Conversely, the less active you were, the longer you could expect to survive. If the results of recent activity surveys are anything to go by, this theory is alive and well! The Allied Dunbar Survey carried out in 1992 (believe it or not, there isn't a later survey than this - which tells you something!) revealed the following:-

• In terms of physical activity, more than eight out of ten women fell below their age-appropriate activity level necessary to achieve a health benefit.
• Among 16-24 year old women, nine out of 10 were below the target level recommended for achieving health benefits.
• Activity declines markedly with age; among 65 – 74 year old women, four out of 10 were entirely sedentary. This is another worrying finding, because elderly people respond well to graded exercise programmes, with consequent improvement in muscle strength, mobility and a reduced likelihood of falls, hip fractures and other injuries.
• Sustaining a reasonable walking pace for several minutes on ground level represented severe exertion for older women – more than one in two women aged 55 – 64 are not fit enough to continue walking on the level at this speed.
• One in two women aged 55 – 74 years, did not have sufficient thigh strength to rise from a chair without using their arms.
• Among women aged 55 and over, one in two did not have sufficient leg strength to climb stairs without using their arms for assistance.

Despite these poor and very worrying findings, more than 80 per cent of women of all ages believed themselves to be fit and the majority (incorrectly) believed that they did enough exercise to keep fit. The huge discrepancy between the perception and the reality may be just mass self-deception, but is more likely to reflect the fact that many people don’t actually know what ‘healthful’ regular exercise is.

Not that we are alone in being in very poor physical shape. Similar surveys in Canada, Australia and the USA give broadly similar results, indicating that the couch potato lifestyle travels well.