Photo: willposh, Flickr

British people are too lazy to have sex, at least that's according to a recent study by Nuffield Health in UK. And if that wasn't shocking enough, there are even more startling findings. Such as? Well, one in six say they'd rather sit through a TV show they didn't want to watch than get up to change the channel if the remote was broken. And more than half said they'll always choose the elevator over two flights of stairs. Wow -- no wonder Britain is the most obese nation in Europe.

But don't be too quick to point the finger -- I suspect Americans aren't doing much better. Obesity rates are similar between the two countries, and considering the majority of us don't engage in any exercise whatsoever, I'm guessing a U.S. based study would show similar results.

OK, so maybe stairs aren't your thing, and the couch is just too darn comfy to justify getting up, but that doesn't mean you have to be a total blob -- there are plenty of fun and fabulous ways to get fit.

Have you tried bocce ball and beach paddleball this summer? Sorry to burst your bubble but you really have no excuse to be quite so lazy!

That's Fit Club is our feature devoted to you, the reader! We have all learned so much on our paths to becoming more fit, and now it's time to learn from and inspire each other! That's Fit Club members are constantly working to better themselves. Some are perfect; some are not. But all have health on the mind.

Besides showing you off, we want to reward you for all of your hard work! Everlast and Everlast Woman are giving gorgeous workout T-shirts to each featured member! To join, please send Fitz your answers to these questions with a photo of yourself. Time for you to be the motivator!

Name: Matt Dunn

Age: 31

Occupation: Software Engineer

How often do you exercise? Five times a week.

What type of exercise do you do? Mostly running -- I'm currently training for my first and second marathons this spring.

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Zoe Smith looks like your typical 14-year-old. She has a shy smile and, at only 5' 2'', she's quite petite. But Zoe is strong ... seriously strong. She's a competitive weightlifter and is creating quite a stir in the sport. Zoe weighs around 125 pounds, but in one clean and jerk, she hoisted 210 pounds worth of weights over her head.

Hailing from London, Zoe took gold in the 2008 Commonwealth Games and was later named one of the British Olympic Association's Athletes of the Year. That's impressive under normal circumstances, but when you consider that Zoe has only been involved in the sport for two years, it's even more astonishing.

What an awesome role model Zoe is for young girls. Strong and dedicated, she shows how young girls can accomplish anything when they set their minds to it.

Keep an eye out for Zoe in the next Olympic Games. My guess is she'll be there. And maybe she'll show her teammates how to lift without making tragic exercise faces.

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My son often begs for fruit snacks at the grocery store. Despite the hundreds of times I've told him otherwise, he still maintains that "they're fruit, so they're healthy!" Um ... no.

It turns out that my son isn't the only one confused by what actually counts as a serving of fruits or vegetables.
A recent British survey revealed lots of parents are confused as well. Some of the surprising results:

• One in 10 believed Jaffa Cakes (a cookie-like treat made with sponge cake, orange jelly, and chocolate) counted as a fruit.
• One in five believed orange squash (a sweetened, orange-flavored drink) counted as a fruit.
• One in five believed Spaghetti Hoops (like Spaghetti-O's) counted as a vegetable.
• One in 20 thought oranges and bananas didn't count as fruits.
• 15 percent of British parents don't believe it's their job to teach their kids about nutrition.

Wow. And though it's sad to say, I think a survey in North America would have similar results. Check out the gallery for some potentially confusing items.

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If you live in North America, you may not have heard of Kerry Katona. In short, she's sort of the Britney Spears of Europe -- a pretty, young, troubled mother whose unfortunate choices and mental issues are plastered all over the tabloids for the public to snicker at and judge at will. Like Britney, Katona recently lost a fair amount of weight but unlike Britney (as far as we know, anyway ... ), she did it with surgery. Fair enough -- the girl has given birth to four children, so things are probably less, uh, firm than they used to be.

But recently, Katona raised some eyebrows when she was caught having junk food delivered to her house. Seriously? I don't have a problem with weight loss surgery except when it's simply a quick fix and the person has no intention of following by adopting healthy habits afterwards. Sounds like she's going to gain it back in no time -- what do you think?

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Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has been trying to make a difference in the nutritional quality of the UK's school lunches for years. Now, Oliver is focusing on another area that needs improvement -- the typical British home. He worries that the tough economic times are further degrading the quality of food served at home.

When Oliver was first zeroing in on school lunches and teaching cafeteria workers to prepare fresher, more nutritious meals, he didn't just encounter resistance from kids. In one South Yorkshire town, cameras caught parents of school children shoving burgers and fries at their kids through the school's fence. So now Oliver is working in that town and trying to teach families how to eat healthfully on a tight budget.

Oliver makes a good point: Historically, when money was tight, people had to become more resourceful -- growing their own produce, using cheaper cuts of meat, and so forth. Now, however, people have the option of buying $0.79 boxes of macaroni and cheese or value meals at fast food joints. Have you seen that recent commercial for KFC? The one that challenges people to buy the ingredients for a bucket of chicken for less than they'll sell it to you? That's just the point the Oliver is making -- when convenience and cost pair together, some people will let nutrition slide.

If you're trying to lower your grocery costs, try these tips for eating healthfully on a budget.

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The world's in the midst of an obesity crisis, and at least one celebrity chef has been doing something about it -- Jamie Oliver has been trying to get Britain to eat healthier since he launched his School Dinners program in 2005. But not much has changed since then and Oliver is so fed up and disgusted with his fellow Brits, he's threatening to quit if his home nation doesn't start eating healthier.

Says Oliver: "I should and I must and I will go in there and make a difference to these people's lives. I don't know how I am going to do it but if I don't I shall f***ing retire. Simple as that."

I hope he sticks it out -- his cause is certainly a worthy one. Let's get moving, Britain!

(via Calorie Lab)

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Dark chocolate has been enjoying an improved image lately, with all the good press regarding its health benefits.
It may still be high in sugar but it's rich in antioxidants, contains less fat than milk chocolate, and in some circles is considered a Super Food. No wonder dark chocolate sales are soaring.

Dark chocolate sales in Britain have doubled over the past two years, a new report reveals. By the end of the year, the British chocolate market is expected to grow even further. Predictions have sales growing 17 percent by 2013.

Experts think dark chocolate could soon be paired with wine and suggest upmarket bars could offer a choice of the finest chocolate to go with their best wine or champagne.

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As you may already know (and probably not care about), drug-addicted singer Amy Winehouse was recently hospitalized after a fainting spell. The singer was tested for tuberculosis, which sparked a great many rumors, but in the end, that test has reportedly come back negative.

However, the fact of the matter is that drug-resistant TB is on the rise in Britain, and people with reduced immune systems, including those who are drug addicts, alcoholics, or lacking nutrition are more likely to contract the deadly disease. And, of course that means that someone like Winehouse would be fairly susceptible.

Friends and family of the singer hope that this serves as a wake-up call for the 24-year-old. She has several appearances scheduled for the summer, which she hopes to be able to attend, but a mouthpiece says she'll listen to her doctors' orders. You know, because she's listened so well to medical advice before now ...

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Wouldn't it be grand if you simply had to eat a chocolate bar every day? Not complying with your daily prescription would mean the study of heart disease would take a hit. People could get sick, for goodness sake. You wouldn't want that on your conscience, would you?

Participants in Britain will soon be eating one grand chocolate bar every day for one whole year to help researchers determine whether compounds called flavonoids found in chocolate and other foods help reduce the risk of heart disease for menopausal women with type 2 diabetes. Previous studies suggest dark chocolate is linked with heart health but experts say the high sugar and fat content might cancel out some of the benefits.

One hundred and fifty women -- each one past menopause and with type 2 diabetes -- will come to the aid of science very soon. While downing their daily decadence -- half will eat a super-charged bar with 30 grams of flavonoids; the others will get chocolate without the active compounds -- researchers will look at their blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and the condition of their arteries.

Researchers hope this study has implication for a wider population. If all goes well, maybe a candy bar will soon be on your daily diet plan.

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Is an apology really an apology when it's mandated? I don't think so, given the fact that it's not really rooted in sincerity. Maybe it's better than nothing, though.

Britain's Daily Mail newspaper was made to apologize to the daughter of Elvis after printing last month that Presley, like her late father, was packing on the pounds with a poor diet. But Presley wasn't "growing just like her dad," as the paper claimed. She was growing because of the baby in her belly. So Presley sued for libel. And the paper published an apology. It went like this:

On March 4 we published a photograph of Lisa Marie Presley while she was dining with friends. We suggested she might have an unhealthy appetite similar to her late father. We now accept that the suggestion is untrue and apologize to Ms. Presley for any distress caused.

Presley, 40, is expecting her third child this Fall.

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If you drink water from a municipal water source (not well water), then chances are good that fluoride has been added. It's a common practice in the U.S. to protect teeth from decay. British Health Secretary Alan Johnson wants the practice to become widespread in England -- only 10% have fluoridated water there -- but he's getting resistance from people who question the safety of fluoride and who also say it's their right too choose what goes into their water.

Some studies show that an excess of fluoride can actually pit the teeth and may affect bone health. But health experts say the benefits far outweigh the risks and that children who drink fluoridated water have 15% less tooth decay than those that don't.

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A British friend of mine is always quick to point at America as being the nation spearheading the recent obesity crisis -- to him, most Americans live on little more than junk food. But if he wants to see an example of a gluttonous, junk-food-obsessed country, he needn't look further than his own home, according to this article from The Daily Mail.

According to research, 45% of Britons are addicted to junk food, compared with 44% of Americans and 35% of those from the United Arab Emirates (Emiritians?) The healthiest eaters? The French, not surprisingly.

Perhaps it's time we all picked up a copy of Why French Women Don't Get Fat?

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In what could be a really scary proposition for a major, industrialized country, British officials stated that a majority of its citizens could be obese by the year 2050. As a result, the country's health secretary concluded that a "shift" needs to occur in the way the nation tackles obesity.

Similar to this post I wrote this morning, Health Secretary Alan Johnson singled out an environment of abundance and underlying biology for the reasons of increasing obesity -- not eating habits. But, I disagree here -- eating habits are part of that "abundance," yes?

Regardless, the less we walk and the more we drive and the less we eat (good food) and the more we eat (processed, convenience food) are all changing the rules of the obesity game. Oddly, it sounds like the natural order of things.

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In the Midwestern U.S. right now, allergies are a-plenty. Not a day goes by that the pollen, mold and ragweed counts are off the charts. It's being called one of the worst late-summer allergy seasons in a decade where I live.

Across the pond, health officials in the UK are calling the allergy outbreak in Britain an "epidemic." That sort of language is used when it comes to diseases, but allergies?

Allergy sufferers have apparently grown up large numbers in England, and it's not just to the air outside. Food allergies are escalating, and food labels are being scrutinized as well. Soon, the words "may contain nuts" just won't be enough. Allergy sufferers need to know exactly what is in the foods they eat beyond vague descriptions.

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