A FITNESS expert has urged Scots to cut down on the time they spend in front of the telly and instead get active and live longer.

Dr Andrew Murray was reacting to a new report by the website thinkbox.tv which, based on figures from the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board, revealed that the average viewer in the UK watched three hours and 55 minutes of television a day in 2013.

Dr Murray, who was named the Scottish Government's Physical Activity Champion in 2012, is an avid marathon runner, completing challenges such as a 2659 mile run from Scotland to the Sahara desert and seven ultra marathons in seven continents on seven consecutive days in November 2012.

He praised the Evening Times' Active 2014 campaign and urged Scots to get off the couch in the year that Glasgow hosts the Commonwealth Games.

Dr Murray said: "I was in Kenya recently where children exercise on average five hours a day. In the UK it's less than an hour.

"The figures for adults are even worse.

"The guideline is for people to do 30 minutes of physical activity a day. If you do 30 minutes of exercise five times a week, you will live on average seven and a half years longer.

"Everyone knows the health benefits associated with quitting smoking, but doing 30 minutes of exercise a day is equally beneficial to long-term health."

The Evening Times Active 2014 campaign aims to improve the health of Glaswegians in the year of the Commonwealth Games and build a lasting legacy of physical wellbeing.

Dr Murray added: "I welcome the Evening Times' support in the form of the Active 2014 campaign.

"It's about everyone in Scotland getting the benefit of the spotlight that is on the Commonwealth Games."

Calum Hill, 28, is a personal trainer at Glasgow University's Sport and Recreation Service. He said: "The average person works eight hours a day and, according to these figures, watches TV for four hours. That doesn't leave a lot of time for other things.

"If people got up off their backsides for even just 30 minutes of moderate exercise a day it will help against heart disease and things like type 2 diabetes.

"And moderate exercise can vary a lot depending on your levels of fitness.

"It generally means exercise that gets you breathing hard and sweating, and for someone who is not very fit that could simply be walking to the shops.

"Exercises using your own body weight, such as squats or push-ups, are great for that."

Shona Robison, Minister for Commonwealth Games and Sport, said: "The Scottish Government is committed to increasing physical activity. With the Commonwealth Games and Ryder Cup coming to Scotland this year there's never been a better time to get active."

stef.lach@ eveningtimes.co.uk