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Eastenders and Corrie lose out in health lather league

18 September 2003

A Bupa study of the major TV soaps has found that student show Hollyoaks is the healthiest while Eastenders just pips Coronation Street to the post as the least healthy soap in the UK. Medical experts developed a health index to calculate the number of characters most at risk of developing serious diseases. On average, the four major TV soaps Eastenders, Coronation Street, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks attract a combined audience equal to the population of the UK, with a huge 60 million viewers each week.

Taking an equal number of characters from each of the four soap shows, Bupa's medical team knocked off points for each health concern, giving a score out of ten. Those scoring lowest included chain-smoking Jim Branning from Eastenders and Coronation Street's overweight Fred Elliott and hard drinking and smoking Janice Battersby. Topping the health league table are "everything in moderation" Ken Barlow, handyman Syd from Emmerdale and young mum Helen Cunningham from Hollyoaks.

For over 40 years people in the UK have been obsessed with TV soap operas and have lived the highs and lows along with their favourite characters. Dr Sally Cubbin of Bupa Insurance said: "It's only natural that viewers are influenced by the everyday lives they see acted out on the box. But some of the most loveable characters are also some of the unhealthiest and, while it's great to see the characters sharing gossip and news in the pub, viewers often see the whole cast gathered around the bar, supping away both at lunchtime and in the evening."

Dr Cubbin says the soaps could be using their popularity and influence to set audiences a better example of healthy living: "Lunchtime drinking may briefly relieve work stress but if the characters are back in the pub after work, they're probably spending too much time with alcohol in their systems. As well as being the fattest nation in Europe, we are also seeing a higher incidence of liver disease in this country. As the TV soaps are in such a powerful position to influence people, a few more characters to demonstrate the benefits of a healthier lifestyle could go a long way to encouraging us to take better care of our health.

"Characters such as Eastenders' Barry Evans and Fred Elliott from Coronation Street are putting themselves at higher risk of heart disease and cancer with their poor diets focusing on high fat foods and pints. Corrie character Jack Duckworth had a heart attack three years ago but, against all the doctors' advice, he is still smoking, drinking and enjoying his fry-ups. In real life, he would be likely to be experiencing symptoms of heart disease by now. Instead of going to his allotment to get away from wife Vera, he could start getting more active by taking to gardening and growing fruit and vegetables to improve his diet."

Dr Cubbin continued: "The soaps give us great examples of supportive communities and take a grittily realistic view of issues such as teenage pregnancy and debt, so why not show us what can happen if you don't look after yourself? I'm not suggesting that Pauline Fowler and Janice Battersby start going to the gym but it might encourage some viewers if we could see Dot Branning trying to give up smoking!"

Bupa has put together some tips for healthy soap watching to help viewers minimise some of the bad habits they could pick up from their favourite soap characters.

Top Ten Least Healthy Soap Characters

1. Janice Battersby (Coronation Street) - addicted to smoking and drinking, as well as eating too many chips and doing no exercise. The stress of her divorce and the level of salt in her diet could put her at risk of high blood pressure, which could lead to heart disease and stroke
2. Fred Elliott (Coronation Street) - overweight and eats too much red meat with very few vegetables. Spending time in the pub means he's a passive smoker and he's never seen doing any exercise. Fred could be at risk of late onset diabetes
3. Terry the chauffeur (Emmerdale) - hard smoking, hard drinking ex-rugby player who now leads a very sedentary life and has a poor diet with very little in the way of fruit and vegetables
4. Jack Duckworth (Coronation Street) - only three years after his heart bypass operation, Jack is still drinking, smoking and having a daily fry-up. By becoming more active, giving up smoking and improving his eating habits, Jack could reduce the risk of further heart problems
5. Jim Branning (Eastenders) - continues to smoke and drink and eats unhealthily which, as he's now quite elderly, put him at a greater risk of health problems like diabetes, lung and colon cancer and heart disease
6. Kat Slater (Eastenders) - drinks too much and, although she gets exercise from her nights out clubbing, the number of sexual partners she has puts her at higher risk of sexually transmitted infections, which could affect her fertility
7. Barry Evans (Eastenders) - eats very high fat foods - including fried bread and doughnuts, doesn't exercise and is overweight, like nearly two thirds of British men!
8. Pat Butcher (Eastenders) - overweight, chainsmokes, very fond of a G&T and the only exercise she gets is wearing her very heavy earrings.
9. Les Battersby (Coronation Street) - drinks to excess, lives off takeaways and gets no exercise, as he's normally sitting in a taxi all day - when he's not in prison
10. Les Hunter (Hollyoaks) - his drinking problem is not only affecting his health but contributes to his explosive temper, making his tense homelife even worse

Tips for healthy TV soap watching

1. Try watching your favourite soap on the TV at the gym - we should all be aiming to do 30 minutes of moderate exercise every day, leaving us a little warm and slightly out of breath
2. Prop yourself on your elbows on the floor and exercise your legs with some gentle cycling
3. Try some yoga or stretching exercises
4. Tone up your legs by doing some squats
5. Using a couple of cans of baked beans (or similar), try some bicep curls
6. If you're a chocoholic, try snacking on some (slightly healthier) chocolate-covered raisins
7. Try some gentle sit-ups
8. Supporting your weight on the seat of your sofa, strengthen the backs of your arms with some tricep dips
9. Tone your back and shoulders with some press-ups
10. Sit in an armchair, hold the arms and, with straight legs, lift your feet a few inches off the floor

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