Are we a nation of couch potatoes?

Monster survey

Have we forgotten all those new years resolutions and promises? What happened to all those gym memberships we rushed to get following the excesses of various Christmas celebrations? According to a recent survey by Monster.co.uk, more than half of Brits never exercise, because they consider themselves lazy.

A total of 2,882 workers were asked the question, How often do you exercise? which revealed:

51% (1488 votes) said: I don''t because I''m lazy.
32% (951 votes) said: Frequently, twice a week or more.
7% (228 votes) said: I don''t, but I would if I had the time.
4% (144 votes) said: Once during the working week.
2% (71 votes) said: Once at the weekend.

Exercise should be something that employers encourage. It releases stress and increases productivity. The irony is that workers who feel stressed or work long hours might lack the energy to even think about exercising at the end of their working day. Exercising doesn''t always mean going to the gym; team sports can be turned into social activities and walking to and from work can also be a great exercise, said Joe Slavin, managing director, Monster.co.uk.

On top of the 51% who admitted to never exercising because they''re lazy, an additional 7% said that they also didn''t, but that they would if they had the time. And although more than half of Brits don''t do any exercise, it is surprising that most of them admit to being lazy rather than blaming it on work or other pressures. This can become dangerous when combined with other symptoms of our modern lifestyle. Not exercising and lack of healthy meals seem to often enough go together in a fast moving, high-pressured society. In early July, following a lawsuit, US food maker Kraft announced that it would reduce meal portions and substitute fat content for all its products in an aim to combat obesity problems.

The truth is that despite all the good intentions and exercising promises we make ourselves at the beginning of each year, it is difficult to live up to them throughout the year. There seems to be a correlation between the amount of exercise people do and their stress levels at work. ''High-strain'' jobs, which make large demands from employees, can sometimes be the cause for lack of exercise. The October 2002 issue of the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology revealed that employees who felt stressed in their jobs not only showed less self-confidence in their ability to stick to an exercise programme, but they also exercised less frequently than their colleagues in lower strain jobs.

Out of those respondents who do exercise, 82% of them do it regularly--twice a week or more. This reveals that those who do work out take it seriously or actually enjoy it. The increased popularity of gyms and health spas over the last decade, together with the good deals and corporate memberships offered, have attracted a fair share of workers, who see the trip to the gym as an extension of their socialising with colleagues.

Looking at the results of this survey, it could be argued that a short walk to the local pub and lifting a few pints is as far as the majority of Brits would go in terms of exercising. So what can we do? Monster''s Slavin explains that setting up a sports team at work, walking to the office and avoiding the hot temperatures of public transport, or taking the stairs instead of the lifts will go a long way to help relieve stress and boost your self-confidence!



The results of the current Monster Meter are based on votes cast by Monster.co.uk visitors from 23th June 2003 to 7th July 2003. Only one vote per user is counted toward the final tabulation. The Monster Meter, a product of Monster, the leading global online careers site and flagship brand of Monster Worldwide Inc. (formerly TMP Worldwide Inc.), is a series of online polls that gauge users'' opinions on a variety of topics relating to careers, the economy and the workplace. Anyone interested in voting in Monster''s current online poll may do so by logging onto