We all know there are plenty of reasons not to be a couch potato and that there are plenty of better ways to utilize the time, and now we have yet another: TV viewing impacts a viewer’s risk of death by shortening their life span, according to the study.
It was found that each hour of TV viewing translated to:
- 18% greater risk of dying due to cardiovascular disease
- 11% higher risk of dying from other causes
- 8% greater risk of dying from cancer
And if you think this pertains only to the slobs and lay-abouts who do nothing except watch TV think again! This was found even among those who exercised and would be considered healthy.
Long hours of TV necessarily mean long bouts of inactivity which itself is seen to be deleterious to good health. The message here is against long periods of any kind of immobility because muscle contraction is necessary for the body’s regulatory processes. Less activity means less metabolizing of cholesterol and more synthesizing.
More TV viewing is also tantamount to more eating. Even those that exercise during the day but for the most part are inactive, are more at risk. The lesson to be learnt here is KEEP MOVING!
