Get off your couch and live longer says expert

Our sedentary lifestyles and rich diet send 2100 New Zealanders to an early grave every year, KATHERINE HOBY hears.

Australian health and fitness expert Professor Adrian Bauman knows he will never win a popularity contest for saying so, but suggests we toss our remotes.

Our "society of convenience" is turning us into slobs, he says.

"There is a wave of slothfulness swamping the globe and Australasians are no exception."

Inactivity kills 2100 New Zealanders prematurely every year, says Professor Bauman.

"This new epidemic of inactivity is costing money in associated health bills, and costing us lives."

New Zealand has a CPI - Couch Potato Index - rating of 32 per cent, he says.

This is better than Australians on 40-45 per cent and Americans on 50.

However, it means almost a third of the population is not getting the recommended 30 minutes of exercise a day.

Professor Bauman says growing obesity levels cannot be ignored. Everyday physical activity is vital in avoiding excess weight and its related health issues.

"People face a twin threat from high-energy foods and low-energy expenditure, partly due to busy lifestyles.

"If we don't burn the energy we consume, it quickly hits our bottom lines - literally."

Professor Bauman says the CPI is measured on a moderate level of daily exercise, which many people achieve without realising it.

Simple activities such as a brisk walk to the bus-stop or to town to buy lunch add up, he says.

"Unfortunately, the remote control, the e-mail system and cafes in workplaces, which have all made life a lot more convenient, have also meant we move from our desks a lot less often.

"We e-mail a colleague 10 steps away and collect food from a trolley on the way past.

"In a way society has become anti-exercise."

Hillary Commission spokesman John Boyd says it tries to avoid using the word "exercise" in promotions.

"People see exercise as tough, hard work and hours at the gym," he says.

"We use the word 'movement' now so as not to scare people."

Mr Boyd says people should make activity a priority in their day.

"We have to reframe how we think about activity."

Professor Bauman says Australians and New Zealanders watch an average of two to 2 1/2 hours of television a night.

"We pride ourselves on being two nations of sportspeople but we're becoming sports watchers rather than sports players.

"It has become socially acceptable to be a couch potato."

An average, healthy person should walk between 5km and 9km a day - that is 7000 to 10,000 steps.

Professor Bauman says a man who worked in a high-stress job in Australia was hooked up to a monitor to find out how far he walked each day.

After driving to work, barely leaving the office all day, then driving home, the man had paced out just 400m.

It is an extreme example, says Professor Bauman, but busy working lives are pushing us towards sloth.

"It's not natural for humans to lead a sedentary life."

Professor Bauman and the commission are concerned that New Zealand children are just as inactive as the adults.

"Couch potatoes breed couch potatoes - little tubers," he says.

"And you only need to look at the family dog to see how active a family is.

"If the dog's fat the family might be, too."

* The Hillary Commission's Push Play campaign is all about encouraging New Zealanders to get off the sofa and into a more active lifestyle. For more information phone 0800 228-483 or check the website Pushplay

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