A couch potato refers to a person who spends most of his or her free time sitting or lying on a couch. This stereotype often refers to lazy and overweight men who watch a lot of television, sometimes in their underwear and sometimes drinking beer. Generally speaking, the term refers to a lifestyle in which children or adults don't get enough physical activity. Couch Potato refers to: couch potato, a slang term a song by Weird Al Yankovic on his album Poodle Hat a television program formerly shown on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation a game run by Fox 6 XETV from San Diego, California This is a disambiguation page—a list of articles... For other uses, see Couch (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Stereotype (disambiguation). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about the medical term. ... A pair of mens briefs Undergarments, also called underwear or sometimes intimate clothing, are clothes worn next to the skin, usually under other clothes. ... For other uses, see Beer (disambiguation). ...

History

The term "couch potato" was first coined in 1976 by a friend of American underground comics artist Robert Armstrong. In the early-1980s, he registered the term as a trademark with the US 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] Year 1976 Pick up sticks(MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The term underground comics or comix describes the self-published or small press comic books that sprang up in the US in the late 1960s. ... “(TM)” redirects here. ...

The term eventually entered common American vocabulary, generally defining one who unceasingly watches television as a form of "Transcendental Vegetation (TV for short)." The phrase was entered into the Oxford English Dictionary in 1993. Mingo, the Minister of Information and Propaganda for the official Couch Potatoes organization, explained why the potato was chosen as a vegetable role model: "We're an underground movement, we're all eyes when planted in front of the TV, vegetation is an important part of our existence, and we're Tubers. Get it?" The potato was also chosen because of the potato chips that couch potatoes ate while watching television. The Oxford English Dictionary print set The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is a dictionary published by the Oxford University Press (OUP), and is the most successful dictionary of the English language, (not to be confused with the one-volume Oxford Dictionary of English, formerly New Oxford Dictionary of English, of... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ...

Amongst Canadians, adhering to colloquial vernacular, the couch potato is referred to as the Chesterfield Spud or a Jon Whyte.

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] Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) sets the knowledge base for the fitness industry[citation needed]. ACSM offers certification for personal trainers. ...

Popular culture

• Various activities have been designed for the couch potato, including a type of investment portfolio ("Couch Potato Portfolio")[6], 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.[7]
• 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."
• 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 Potato was a Sunday morning kids TV show aired on the ABC in Australia in the '90s.
• In The Simpsons, most episodes feature Homer Simpson spending most of his free time lying on the couch watching TV and drinking beer in his underwear.

Fantasy football can refer to two different types of fantasy sport, depending upon the local meaning of the term football: Fantasy football (American) Fantasy football (soccer) There is also a British television programme called Fantasy Football League, loosely based on the soccer version. ... This article needs additional references or sources to improve its verifiability. ... This article is about the musician himself. ... Couch Potato is a song by Weird Al Yankovic. ... For the sense of losing oneself, see Flow (psychology). ... Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), better known as Eminem or Slim Shady, is a Grammy and Academy Award-winning American rapper, record producer and actor from the Detroit, Michigan area. ... “Slob” redirects here. ... The Australian Broadcasting Corporation or ABC is Australias national non-profit public broadcaster. ... The Simpsons. ... Homer Simpson is also a character in the book and film The Day of the Locust. ...

External Links

• On Mirror Neurons or Why It Is Okay to be a Couch Potato