Couch potato
A couch potato is (originally U.S.) slang for a person who spends most or much of his time sitting or lying on a couch, or perhaps an armchair or recliner, watching television in his underwear and often drinking beer. Typically, couch potatoes are supposed to be overweight or out of shape.
The word first appeared in a December 1979 edition of The Los Angeles Times[citation needed], and entered the Oxford English Dictionary 14 years later. The exact origin of the term is unknown but many believe it relates to some people’s habit of eating potato chips while watching TV.
Some studies have said that the "couch potato lifestyle" is a serious health hazard to its practitioners[1]; in the United Kingdom, a plan of the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit tied attempts "to combat the couch potato culture" to "[improving the U.K.'s] international sporting performance" [2].
Ten 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".[3]
Various activities have been designed for or around the couch potato, including a type of investment portfolio ("Couch Potato Portfolio")[4], and fantasy football leagues.
The phrase has coined a spin-off 'mouse potato' (or 'computer potato'), meaning one who spends too much time in front of a computer. The origin of the neologism 'mouse potato', obviously a play on words between a (computer) mouse and a couch, is unknown.
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." [citation needed]
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."