Watching Too Much TV can Reduce Lifespan: Study

Watching television for three or more hours per day could reduce lifespan, a new study shows.

Researchers at the University of Navarra in Pamplona, Spain, and colleagues have found that adults who watch TV for three or more hours every day are at two times higher risk of dying earlier than other people.

Previous research has shown that being a couch potato can lead to several health problems such as obesity, diabetes and even certain types of cancer. The present study looked at the effects of specific types of sedentary behavior on premature death risk.

"Television viewing is a major sedentary behavior and there is an increasing trend toward all types of sedentary behaviors," said lead author of the study Miguel Martinez-Gonzalez, M.D., at the University of Navarra in Pamplona, Spain. "Our findings are consistent with a range of previous studies where time spent watching television was linked to mortality."

The data for the study came from 13,284 young and healthy Spanish university graduates with an average age of 37 years. Researchers wanted to determine the risk of early death from three types of sedentary behaviours: watching TV, spending time on the computer and driving. The participants were followed for about 8.2 years. During the study time, 97 people died - of which 19 deaths were due to heart problems, 46 from cancer and 32 from other causes.

Researchers found that the risk of early death was two times higher in participants who watched three or more hours of television everyday compared to other people. The risk remained even after the researchers accounted for other factors that could have elevated the death risk.

The team didn't find any association between spending time on the computer and early death risk. Researchers said that further studies are required to find if other types of sedentary behavior affected longevity.

Americans, on an average, spend about four and half hours watching television and about five hours online.

"As the population ages, sedentary behaviors will become more prevalent, especially watching television, and this poses an additional burden on the increased health problems related to aging," Martinez-Gonzalez said in a news release. "Our findings suggest adults may consider increasing their physical activity, avoid long sedentary periods, and reduce television watching to no longer than one to two hours each day."

The study is published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.