HOMER SIMPSON’S love of doughnuts and beer would leave him short of breath and a prime candidate for a heart attack while his son Bart would likely follow in his footsteps.

A virtual fitness test devised by scientists has revealed that a real-life Homer would have to forget about climbing Mount Springfield or travelling into space.

His couch-potato lifestyle would leave him struggling with the most basic physical tasks.

Experts at the Institute of Physics have calculated that the US cartoon hero eats an average of 130g of fat every day, more than the recommended 83g for a man of his age. His love of junk food means that most of this would be saturated fat, leading to sky-high cholesterol levels.

His daily lifestyle of driving to work, sitting around at the nuclear plant, then plonking himself in front of the television in the evening would make matters worse. Weighing in at more than 17st, he would be clinically obese, chronically unfit and in severe danger of developing heart disease.

He would have trouble completing a fitness test involving stepping up and down from a bench for two minutes.

Bart is much healthier, according to the report in Young Scientist magazine. He eats slightly less fat than his dad, and his skateboarding keeps him relatively active.

But the warning signs are already there. He eats far too much saturated fat from junk food, and spends most nights watching cartoons on television. There is every chance that his waistline — and health — will eventually go the way of his father.

Deborah Allen, of the British Heart Foundation, said: “Homer’s current lifestyle is putting him at risk of developing coronary heart disease.

“Bart is healthier because he is more active. He spends a lot of time riding his skateboard and bicycle and playing with his friends. Unfortunately Bart does spend too much time in front of the television.”

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