Britons too lazy to have sex or change TV channel

The British are so lazy that one in six cannot be bothered to change the television channel if the remote control is not working, according to a study.

The British are so lazy that one in six cannot be bothered to change the television channel if the remote control is not working, according to a study.

More than half said they would take the lift rather than climb two flights of stairs to their workplace, while three quarters had too little energy for sex at the end of a long day.

An entire generation risks being blighted by idleness, warned Nuffield Health, a non-profit organisation which commissioned the poll.

"Ready meals, remote controls and even internet shopping are all contributing to a dangerously lazy and idle Britain," said Dr Sarah Dauncey, its medical director.

Bored: In the poll, 15 per cent said that, if the television remote was broken, they would rather continue watching the same channel than switching to another program.

In the poll of more than 2,000 adults, 15 per cent said that, if the television remote was broken, they would rather continue watching the same channel than getting up and switching to another program.

73% off sex

Some 73 per cent had no energy for sex, while 64 per cent of parents were too tired to play with their children fuelling concern over child obesity, which already afflicts one in six pre-school infants.

"People need to get fitter, not just for their own sake, but for the sake of their families, friends and evidently their pets too," said Dauncey.

Thirty-six per cent said they would not run to catch a bus, 59 per cent took the lift instead of walking up even two flights of stairs, and 52 per cent of dog owners said they could not be bothered to walk their pet.

And Dauncey warned, "If we don't start to take control of this problem, a whole generation will become too unfit to perform even the most rudimentary of tasks."

Glasgow laziest

Scotland's largest city came in at the bottom of the poll, with 75 per cent of Glasgow respondents admitting they failed to exercise at least three times a week.

Glasgow has one of the worst health records in the UK and men living in some of the most deprived parts of the city have a life expectancy of 54, compared to 67 in Iraq, according to a survey.