Are couch potatoes doomed to an early grave? A recent study says that sitting in front of the TV for hours on end could shorten your life.
According to Reuters, researchers from the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute Victoria, Australia, tracked 8800 adults and found that each hour spent in front of the TV daily was associated with an 11 percent increased risk of death from all causes.
Additionally, there was an 8 percent risk of death from cardiovascular disease, and a nine percent higher risk of cancer death.
"Compared with people who watched less than two hours of television daily, those who watched more than four hours a day had a 46 percent higher risk of death from all causes and an 80 percent increased risk for CVD-related death," said the researchers in a statement.
And it's not just overweight people who are at risk: researcher David Dunstan said "sitting for long periods of time" watching TV has an unhealthy influence regardless of how big your waistline is.
Dunstan suggested that while the study focused on television, other sedentary behaviours such as sitting in front of a desk or a computer may also prove risky to your health.
"The human body was designed to move, not sit for extended periods of time," he said.
So, if you like to sit in front of the TV watching sport with a few beers, limit the time doing it and make sure you go out and actually play some sport too.
Acknowledgements: MSN NZ Mens Lifestyles
http://lifestyle.msn.co.nz/article.aspx?id=999244
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