Couch potato
A couch potato is a person who spends most of their free time sitting or lying on a couch. This stereotype often refers to a lazy and overweight person who watches a great deal of television. Generally speaking, the term refers to a lifestyle in which children or adults do not get enough physical activity.
History
[edit]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 United States 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
[edit]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
[edit]- 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.
- In the comedy movie Stay Tuned (1992), Roy Knable (John Ritter) was a couch potato who was sucked into a television world by an emissary from hell (Jeffrey Jones).
- 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
[edit]- ^ "Couch Potato: Life as a Full-time Television Watcher". www.voanews.com. Archived from the original on 2006-10-04. Retrieved 2025-06-20.
- ^ "Yahoo | Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos". www.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2025-06-20.
- ^ "Are you a couch potato?". 2002-09-03. Retrieved 2025-06-20.
- ^ "New Government report sets out to combat the couch potato culture and improve our international sporting performance". www.pm.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 2005-03-13. Retrieved 2025-06-20.
- ^ Petersen, Andrea (2003-07-15). "Born to Be a Couch Potato: It Could Be in Your Genes". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 2025-10-31.
- ^ Shetty, Priya (29 January 2008). "Couch potato lifestyle may speed up ageing". New Scientist. Retrieved 2025-06-20.
- ^ "Can I Make Money With a Couch-Potato Portfolio?". Investopedia. Retrieved 2025-06-20.
- ^ "Sign in - Google Accounts". accounts.google.com. Retrieved 2025-06-20.(registration required)