Couch potato

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For other uses, see Couch potato (disambiguation)}}}.

A couch potato refers to a person who spends most of his/her free time sitting or lying on a couch. The stereotype often refers to overweight men who watch a lot of television, sometimes in his underwear and drinking beer. Generally speaking, the term refers to a lifestyle in which children or adults don't get enough physical activity.

The word first appeared in a December 1979 edition of The Los Angeles Times^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]}, and was entered into the Oxford English Dictionary fourteen years later. The exact origin of the term is unknown, but may relate to the habit of eating potato chips while watching TV.

Some studies have said that the "couch potato lifestyle" is a serious health hazard to its practitioners[link]; in the United Kingdom, a plan of the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit tied attempts "to combat the couch potato culture" to "[improving the U.K.'s] international sporting performance" [link].

Ten studies presented at the 2003 meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine suggested that there could be a genetic basis for the "couch potato lifestyle".[link]

Various activities have been designed for the couch potato, including a type of investment portfolio ("Couch Potato Portfolio")[link], and fantasy football leagues.

The phrase has coined a spin-off 'mouse potato' (or 'computer potato'), meaning one who spends too much time in front of a computer.

Greyhound dogs, who are well-known for their sprinting ability but otherwise require little exercise, are sometimes called "forty-five mile per hour couch potatoes." #redirect

Music artist Weird Al Yankovic's song "Couch Potato" (a parody of "Lose Yourself" by Eminem) describes him watching hours upon hours of television--- "until his brain is numb, his eyes bloodshot."

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