Anyone who spends six hours a day in front of the box is at risk of dying five years sooner than those who enjoy more active pastimes, it is claimed.
Researchers say that watching too much TV is as dangerous as smoking or being overweight, and that the “ubiquitous sedentary behaviour” should be seen as a “public health problem”.
Experts from the University of Queensland, Australia, write: “TV viewing time may have adverse health consequences that rival those of lack of physical activity, obesity and smoking; every single hour of TV viewed may shorten life by as much as 22 minutes.”
And then on top of that, I saw this:
The study found those who exercised just 15 minutes a day — or 90 minutes a week — cut their risk of death by 14 percent and extended their life expectancy by three years compared with those who did no exercise. Both men and women benefited equally from the minimum activity.
Each additional 15 minutes of exercise reduced the risk of death by another 4 percent compared with the inactive group. Researchers did not report how additional exercise affected life expectancy.
Is there a conspiracy out there to mess with my habits? Sloth, I remind you, is not just a character flaw or a lifestyle choice. It is one of the Seven Deadly Sins, people, and deserves some respect!
Let's try some math. I lose 22 minutes of life for every hour in front of the TV. But I reduce the risk of death 4 percent for every 15minutes over the 90 minutes a week that earns me three extra years. So if I gain three years, how many hours of TV can I watch to stay even? How much over 90 minutes a week do I have to go to make up the five years lost if I actually spend six hours a day in front of the box? Would I have any time at all to do anything but watch TV and exercise? Of course, I could watch and exercise at the same time, but that wouldn't be taking my sloth very seriously.
My head hurts. Maybe I can get Peyton Manning to explain it to me.
Comments
"Enjoy" and "active pastimes" do not belong in the same sentence for anyone over 40.
People can jog till their feet bleed and choke down brown rice till they puke, but they're still going to die of something. Boredom, perhaps.
You know, people who ride, lying down, in an ambulance are much more likely to die within 72 hours than those who ride sitting up.
Similarly, I wonder how many of those people who die early watch a lot of television because they have medical issues, and cannot enjoy golfing, riding bicycle, etc. My late first wife got to a point where an evening of euchre was too physically demanding to be enjoyable - and taking a brisk walk just isn't much fun if you need to use a walker.