Average Briton spends 26 days a year watching on-demand TV

UK adults spend an average of 12 hours a week watching on-demand TV, around eight times longer than they spend exercising, a survey has found.

The survey also found that the average adult spend 17 hours using a smartphone or tablet and 12 hours using social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

In comparison, they were found to spend just one hour and 30 minutes a week doing moderate physical activity such as riding a bike, playing tennis or hiking.

Of those questioned, 14% said they did not do any exercise at all and 13% said they did fewer than 30 minutes of moderate exercise a week, meaning 27% of adults are classed as physically inactive.

Only 27% said they did more than 150 minutes of exercise, as recommended by the chief medical officer.

The study of 2,076 UK adults, conducted by ComRes for the health body UKActive, found that the average UK adult spends 624 hours a year – 26 days – watching on-demand TV such as Netflix, BBC iPlayer and Amazon Prime TV.

Steven Ward, the chief executive of UKActive, said: “Advances in technology and entertainment have captured our imaginations but as we slip into box-set binges, so many people are losing the balance and enjoyment that physical activity brings to our lives.”

The survey was commissioned to coincide with National Fitness Day on Wednesday, which is organised by UKActive to encourage people to take part in physical activity.

“The trick to getting more exercise is finding what motivates you to be active – it could be about fun, fitness or friends, just remember to get up and get moving,” said Ward.

Prof Sir Muir Gray, the NHS’s chief knowledge officer, said physical inactivity was a silent killer. “Sadly, many people today live totally sedentary lives in a world dominated by the car, the desk job, the television and the computer,” he said.

“It is an environmental problem but individuals can take action because we now know that even 10 minutes of brisk walking is beneficial. Physical activity is the miracle cure for many preventable diseases, and even for people who already have one or more diseases it can reduce the risk of frailty and dementia – the most feared disease of all.

“Exercise can help you at any stage of life, no matter what your age, experience or medical condition. The important thing is to take the first step and then another, but briskly.”