What are your television viewing habits? If you're like most Americans, you spend roughly 5 hours a day in front of the idiot box. That's what my dad used to call it. Don't take that the wrong way, I like my idiot box. However, researchers from the University of Queensland, Australia recently demonstrated a correlation between television viewing and life expectancy. Published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, their results showed that watching one hour of TV reduces life expectancy by 22 minutes, and over your life viewing 6 hours per day can reduce life expectancy by 5 years. Compare that to smoking, in which smoking one cigarette reduces life expectancy by 11 minutes, that's the same as 30 minutes of viewing TV.
The study involved 11,000 people over the age of 25 years. They suggested it's not the TV itself but rather the sedentary experience it creates, and the opportunity for unhealthy eating habits while watching television. We've known for years that inactivity reduces life expectancy by increasing the risks for developing chronic diseases such as heart disease, obesity and diabetes. What can we do to offset this bad news?
Well, the obvious answer would be to reduce viewing habits. However, considering many people love their shows, that isn't going to be the only answer. Thanks to research out of Taiwan, we have the answer. Although it's quite obvious, the answer is to increase your daily activity. No brainer right?. A study from the National Health Research Institutes in Zhunan, Taiwan and published in the Lancet, demonstrated that just 15 minutes of exercise per day on a daily basis increased lifespan by 3 years. Lifespan increased further with more daily exercise and leveled off at 100 minutes per day. The study involved 400,000 people over 20 years old from 1996 through 2008.
If you still want to watch all your shows, try exercising while watching. Simple activities, such as performing jumping jacks, push ups, sit-ups, walking/running in place, lunges and squats are easy to do while enjoying your shows. If you happen to have a treadmill or spinning bike, set them up and work out while viewing. Remember, it's not the the television itself affecting your life expectancy, it's the inactivity. Not only will you increase your lifespan expectancy, but you will also reduce your risks of cancer, heart disease, diabetes and other chronic diseases related to a sedentary lifestyle.
Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study, Univ. of Queensland
