The Washington Post reported that prolonged sedentary time, despite exercise, may increase the “risk for a variety of health problems.”

This is “according to a sweeping … study of how people move – or don’t move – throughout the day.”

Are you an active couch potato? Take this two-question quiz to find out:

1. Did you work out for 30 minutes today?
2. Did you spend the rest of the day staring at your computer and then settle in front of the television at night?

If you answered “yes” to both questions, then you meet the definition of what scientists call “an active couch potato.”

It means that, despite your commitment to exercise, you could be at risk for a variety of health problems, according to a sweeping new study of how people move — or don’t move — throughout the day.

The study, “which involved more than 3,700 men and women in Finland, found that many dutifully exercised for a half-hour, but then sat, almost nonstop, for another 10, 11, or even 12 hours a day.”

These individuals “were the study’s active couch potatoes, and their blood sugar, cholesterol, and body fat all were elevated.”

The findings were published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.

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