Study: Every Hour of TV Watched Shortens Your Life by 22 Minutes
An Australian study recently released a shocking finding: every hour of television a person watches shortens their life by an average of 22 minutes. Looking at the behavior of 11,000 participants, the Queensland scientists found that people who watched around 6 hours of TV each day lived an average of almost 5 years less than people who never watched TV. This research corroborates another recent study from Harvard. The Harvard team found that TV watchers are at a significantly greater risk for type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and early death than people who don’t watch TV.
Perhaps the most sobering statistic cited by the Australian team: if TV didn’t exist, the average life expectancy for women would be 1.5 years longer for women and 1.8 years longer for men.
Before you throw your TV out, consider this aspect of the finding: it’s probably not the TV itself that’s causing the problem- it’s the fact that because you’re watching TV, you’re not doing other, more active things. The researchers in both studies agree that watching a lot of TV is strongly correlated with reduced physical activity and poor eating habits. So if the only TV you watch is at the gym while you’re on a treadmill, this finding may not apply to you.
Not sure what to do now that your TV is off? Visit our Brain Fitness page to learn quick brain fitness tips and to learn more about how to choose daily activities that boost your brain instead of draining it.
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August 30th, 2011 at 9:10 am
I’m so sorry to hear that whatching TV is so bad for you!!!!!
I’m going to try not to whatch as much as I do now!!
August 30th, 2011 at 4:33 pm
Getting less vitamin D is perhaps a more important reason for shorter life as watch more TV.
Did you know: teenage media consumption is now
8 hours for whites and 13 hours for Asians – THAT IS DAILY CONSUMPTION
http://www.vitamindwiki.com/tiki-index.php?page_id=1954
August 30th, 2011 at 4:37 pm
By the way: I “consume” about 1/2 hour a day of Posit Science, and I feel that it extends my “brain time” (not lifetime) by at several hours for each hour invested. Have been using it for 2 years now. Here is a link to my notes on Posit
http://www.henrylahore.com/Health/BrainFitness.html
August 31st, 2011 at 5:39 am
My aunt Berti will be 96 in November. Berti lives alone in a neat apartment on the third floor in the city of Zurich. There’s no lift, just steps. In 2001 Berti disposed of her television and has enjoyed an active life ever since, she plays the piano, reads books and goes shopping daily. On my last visit 5 years ago(I live in Australia), Berti told me that the steps and the absence of TV have kept her alive. I’m visiting Berti again this Christmas.
August 31st, 2011 at 6:01 am
Were the characteristics of the subjects who watched TV so much considered? For instance, those who are sedentary by nature may be more inclined to watch TV. If so, then even if they don’t watch TV but remain sedentary they will live shorter lives more than likely.
September 2nd, 2011 at 1:24 pm
I counteract this on the rare occasions when I will be watching for prolonged lengths of time by standing up and walking around through the commercials. You can actually get a fair amount of exercise this way!
September 7th, 2011 at 6:02 am
You say Tv can be a health hazard. Tell me then about people that read books all day long. I know of a few people that is all they do all day long. I prefer Tv, it is more enjoyable and it is a learning tool for me. There are times that I sit and watch Tv and also work on projects at the same time.
October 4th, 2011 at 7:07 am
As my statistics professor used to always say, “correlation does not mean causation”. I don’t think the finding is surprising. It is about lifestyle – those who watch a lot of TV, probably don’t get as much exercise or eat as healthy.
October 4th, 2011 at 10:08 am
@Jake – absolutely agree. As noted, this is just a correlation, not a causation and related to lifestyle.