Melbourne: Couch potatoes, watch out! Every hour that you spend in front of the 'idiot box' could be taking 22 minutes off your life, a new study has warned. Australian researchers have found that watching television could be shortening your life by 4.8 years.
Researchers have found that for every hour of television viewed by a person over the age of 25, their life expectancy is reduced by 22 minutes. The study was based on an average six hours viewing per day, compared to a person who watches no television, News.com.au reported.
Using data from the National Bureau of Statistics and the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study, the researchers generated life-expectancy tables based on the viewing habits of average Australians. "TV viewing time may be associated with a loss of life that is comparable to other major chronic disease risk factors such as physical inactivity, smoking and obesity," the study found.
"These findings suggest that substantial loss of life may be associated with prolonged TV viewing time among Australian adults," it said. The research claims that a sedentary lifestyle is as bad for health as smoking and obesity, because of the dangers posed by inactivity and the greater opportunities it offers for unhealthy eating. The study will be published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
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