Flab or fab, it's time to check the options

By KATHERINE HOBY

We see it on the television. We hear about it on the street, in the workplace and in our homes. We even see it in ourselves.

We have heard and seen over and over how New Zealanders are becoming a nation of sloths, rather than sportspeople.

Experts tell us that we must get off the couch and get moving, and try to eat healthier food.

Overweight and obese New Zealanders are pushing up our rates of diabetes, heart disease and other weight-related conditions. Unless we shape up and start watching our diet we are moving towards an obesity epidemic of massive proportions.

The average couch potato may feel buoyed by being told that taking the stairs rather than the lift, and getting off the bus one stop early can make the difference between flab and fab.

But what's really true?

How can the average New Zealander, feeling a little heavier, a little less healthier than they'd like, start working their way to being fit and healthy?

We asked three experts, a nutritionist, a personal trainer, and a spokesman for Sport and Recreation New Zealand to tell us how to get started on the path to better health.

nzherald.co.nz/health