It's official - watching the popular serial Coronation Street is bad for your health.
A British health and nutrition study claimed the long-running series - a favourite with Kiwi fans - is the "unhealthiest soap" on television.
Nutritionist Fiona Hunter and fitness guru Nicki Waterman wrote that Coro
characters eat fatty food or drink alcohol for at least 10 minutes during each 30-minute episode.
A diet of greasy, fried breakfasts, fish and chips, washed down with pints at the Rovers Return pub, meant the protagonists were poor role models for the millions of fans.
Many of the characters also failed to get regular exercise, as most worked near their Manchester homes.
Elaine Rush, professor of nutrition at the Auckland University of Technology, said: "You don't see them drinking water in the pub do you? I would love to see [that] happening in all cases where alcohol is served [on television], that water would be served, too.
"And the quality of the food supplied is not always meeting our nutrition guidelines either."
New Zealand Nutrition Foundation chief executive Sue Pollard said people watched shows like Coronation Street "to escape rather than emulate the characters".
