In response to Action and habit
Comment author: fubarobfusco 02 June 2011 08:18:24PM 29 points [-]

It occurs to me that "couch-potato-ness" has to be an acquired habit as well. How many times does a kid have to be instructed to sit down, shut up, and stop fidgeting — and punished for getting up, making noise, wandering away, getting into things, making a mess — before they are content to sit and watch TV for hours a day?

Comment author: Jebdm 03 June 2011 02:13:04PM 11 points [-]

Not all people are automatically and naturally active. I certainly am not, and my parents in fact did the opposite of what you are saying. That said, "couch-potato-ness" can certainly be habitualized even in "natural" couch potatoes, making it even harder for them to do other things.