“Maybe evolution is trying to tell us something,” she says. Most of us need not worry about life at 120, or even 90. Our sedentary lifestyle helps ensure that many of us will depart this earth well before. Public Health England (PHE) says some six million people between 40 and 60 in England are endangering their health by not taking so much as a brisk walk for 10 minutes once a month. But there is always the chance to change. One of the benefits of being a couch potato in youth and early middle-age is the lack of stress damage accrued by serious athletes that can leave some of them old before their time.

“Maybe evolution is trying to tell us something,” she says. Most of us need not worry about life at 120, or even 90. Our sedentary lifestyle helps ensure that many of us will depart this earth well before. Public Health England (PHE) says some six million people between 40 and 60 in England are endangering their health by not taking so much as a brisk walk for 10 minutes once a month. But there is always the chance to change. One of the benefits of being a couch potato in youth and early middle-age is the lack of stress damage accrued by serious athletes that can leave some of them old before their time.