When Was The Last Time You Walked For Five Full Minutes?

For nearly one in ten of us, the answer is FOUR WEEKS AGO.

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It's official: as a nation, we are not getting enough exercise.

According to a new academic study — reported in today's Observer — "very high levels of physical inactivity" were reported among the one million British individuals studied.

The report from the Centre for Market and Public Organisation at Bristol University found that nearly 80% of us fail to meet national government targets for physical activity - which is performing moderate exercise for 30 minutes at least 12 times a month.

Breaking the stats down further, it found that 8% of the adults with the ability to do so had not walked continuously for five minutes within the previous four weeks (apart from when shopping).

Some 46% had not walked for leisure for 30 minutes straight in the same period, while, for nine out of ten people, their frequency at a gym can be summed up in the words of Homer Simpson:

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The paper - which has the catchy title, 'The Socioeconomic Gradient in Physical

Inactivity in England' - links levels of physical activity to factors like income, ethnicity, geography and access to exercise-friendly activities and resources.

It can be read in full here if you are so inclined.