The Couch Potato Killer:How Not Moving Really Affects Your Life

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By Rachel Derry
Staff Writer LIFamilies

We all know that television is bad for us. We are distracted and stagnant, and everyone loves to tell us how we could be better spending our time. Well there is a new study that may even reform the most avid of couch potatoes. What if you found out that every hour you spend in front of the TV deducted 22 minutes from your life?

The University of Queensland in Australia just wrapped up a study that tracked 11,000 participants, all over the age of 25. They gathered the data and configured the affects of hours of television on the lives of the adults. That’s where they found that for every hour that is spent sedentary in front of a screen takes 22 minutes off their lifespan.

Well, to the most devoted of TV advocates 22 minutes may not seem like much. If you are in front of a television or screen for an average of six hours a day that can mean subtracting 5 years from your life, in total. 5 years is a much more substantial number! Spending six plus hours in front of a screen everyday also increases your risk of death by 40%. TV is no longer anyone’s best friend.

The study does not prove that TV is a silent killer that should be stopped at all costs; obviously. It is the behavior associated with sitting in front of the TV that is the killer. Adults who spend their lives sedentary, or sitting, are risking them by not moving.

To counter these affects, move whenever you have the chance. Invest in a stationary bike or elliptical to keep in your TV room (so that you can stay on speaking terms with your electrical best friend). Get up and move from time to time at work. The more time you spend active, instead of in front of your TV or screen, the longer and more satisfying your life will be.

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