Couch potato

For other uses, see Couch potato (disambiguation).

A couch potato is a person who spends most of his or her free time sitting or lying on a couch. This stereotype often refers to a lazy and overweight person who watches a lot of television. Generally speaking, the term refers to a lifestyle in which children or adults don't get enough physical activity.

History

The actual term "couch potato" was first coined in 1976 by Tom Iacino, a friend of American underground comics artist Robert Armstrong. In the early-1980s, he registered the term as a trademark with the U.S. government; he also co-authored a book with Jack Mingo, called The Official Couch Potato Handbook, which delves into the lives of couch potatoes.^[1][2]

The term eventually entered common American vocabulary, generally defining one who unceasingly watches television. The phrase was entered into the Oxford English Dictionary in 1993.^{[citation needed]}

Health

Some studies have said that the "couch potato lifestyle" is a serious health hazard to its practitioners;^[3] in the United Kingdom, a plan of the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit tried attempts "to combat the couch potato culture" to "[improving the U.K.'s] international sporting performance."^[4]

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".^[5]

Research suggests that being a couch potato could make a person a decade older biologically than someone who is physically active.^[6]

Popular culture

• Various activities have been designed for the couch potato, including a type of investment portfolio ("Couch Potato Portfolio")^[7] and fantasy football leagues.
• 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" by adoption and rescue agencies.^[8]
• 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] legs are numb, [his] eyes bloodshot."
• The phrase has coined the spin-off mouse potato (or sometimes computer potato), meaning one who spends too much time in front of a computer.
• Couch Potatoes was the name of a game show hosted by Double Dare host Marc Summers.
• Couch Potato was a Sunday morning kids TV show aired on the ABC in Australia in the 1990s.

References

1. http://www.voanews.com/specialenglish/archive/2006-08/2006-08-20-voa1.cfm
2. http://www.geocities.com/artandnoveltyhut/resume.html
3. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2233736.stm]
4. http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page3900.asp
5. http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/living/health/6500983.htm
6. http://www.newscientist.com/channel/health/dn13238?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn13238
7. http://www.investopedia.com/articles/mutualfund/03/043003.asp
8. http://www.pupswithoutpartners.org/

External links

• CouchPotato – A personalized tv-show guide for couch potatoes
• On Mirror Neurons or Why It Is Okay to be a Couch Potato