A new study says that avid TV watchers may have a shortened lifespan, HealthDay.com reported.
Australian researchers discovered that people who watch approximately six hours of TV a day live about five years less than those who don’t watch any TV.
Researchers from the University of Queensland said after the age of 25, your lifespan shortens by 22 minutes for every hour of TV that you watch.
"As a rule, the more time we spend watching TV, the more time we spend eating mindlessly in front of the TV, and the less time we spend being physically active," Katz said. "More eating and less physical activity, in turn, mean greater risk for obesity, and the chronic diseases it tends to anticipate notably diabetes, heart disease and cancer,” said Dr. David L. Katz, director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine.
Another reason for the shortened lifespan may have to do with the fact that people who watch more TV than others tend to be depressed or lonely, Katz added.
The study was published in the Aug. 15 edition of British Journal of Sports Medicine.
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