his week Dame Sally Davies has claimed that people should spend less time shopping online and more time walking to and from physical stores, to avoid health issues associated with an increasingly sedentary lifestyle, according to the Telegraph.

As the UK’s chief medical officer this is clearly an opinion with some clout, although she also mentioned that there are a number of small alterations to habits that people can make so that they do not succumb to emerging problems like obesity and heart disease.

Figures published by the government show that 25 per cent of women and 33 per cent of men do not exercise their muscles enough through lifting objects in the course of an average week to prevent wastage from occurring. And it is recommended that two 20 minute sessions of activity are enacted every 7 days to keep legs and arms in good condition.

Dame Sally said that visiting shops on foot and walking home with heavy bags would be a good example of something that people can do to improve their health in the long term.

Of course, it is now easier than ever to combine safe shopping online with a visit to the nearest bricks and mortar outlet thanks to the availability of click and collect as a delivery option. So reserving an item online or choosing an entire grocery order to be picked up from a nearby supermarket, without the need to gather up and bag the items individually, is an ideal solution for those who do not want to give up on e-commerce.

With online grocery sales set to hit £15 billion by the end of the decade, such warnings are likely to increase in relevance and there is much to be said for the importance of mindfully making use of online resources.