Television Will Kill You

Back in 1991, Michael Franti wrote a song called “Television, Drug Of The Nation.”

And thanks to new research, television, like most drugs, can now be conclusively linked with health problems.

An article in a journal published by the American Heart Association reports that each hour spent watching television shortens your life.

More specifically, television is linked with increasing your likelihood of dying from cancer (9% increased risk) and cardiovascular disease (18% greater risk). Television increases all causes of death by 11%.

One of the interesting results from the study is that television’s impact was the same among healthy people who exercised as well as obese and overweight individuals.

It appears the primary culprit is the sedentary position we assume when in front of the tv. Dr. David Dustan, the lead author of the study, says “When we’re in that sitting posture, we’re not using our muscles, and we know from extensive evidence that muscle contractions are important for the body’s regulatory processes, such as the ability to break down glucose and use it as energy.”

While this study only tracked the impact of television, I am thinking excessive sitting in front of the computer is equally hazardous to our health.

If true, I wonder how much that would change modern society, where so many jobs essentially glue you to a computer for eight hours a day and our idea of entertainment increasingly revolves around treating the internet like television.

In short, get away from the screen and do something active!