Too Much TV Can Lead to Obesity

According to a new study from the Harvard School of Public Health, if individuals want to avoid obesity and possibly diabetes, they should limit their TV watching to no more than 10 hours a week and try to spend 30 minutes a day taking a brisk walk. Results of the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (April 9, 2003) found that each hour spent walking briskly saw a 24% reduction in obesity and a 34% reduction in diabetes.

In a study of 50,277 women between 1992 and 1998, researchers found that each 2-hour increment of daily TV watching was associated with a 23% increase in obesity and a 14% increase in the risk for type 2 diabetes. Unlike sitting at a computer or driving a car, TV watching results in a lower metabolic rate.