TV is bad for your health
Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist
Watching more than two hours TV sets a young person up for problems like obesity and high cholesterol in later life.
Previous research has linked watching a lot of TV with poor health. Maybe it's because when you're in front of the TV you're not being physically active or perhaps people tend to eat more convenience foods and snacks in this situation. Now a new study from the University of Otago, New Zealand, shows how watching more than two hours television a week is linked with the development of heart disease risk factors in young people.
The data comes from a long running study of 1,000 children in Dunedin. All were born between 1972 and 1973 and followed to age 26. At this time, those who watched more than two hours TV a day were more likely to have raised cholesterol, be obese and to smoke. Since it's hard to make lifestyle changes from young adulthood and beyond, it may be wise to limit TV watching so that a young person can postpone development of heart disease risk factors for as long as possible. Adults with a serious TV habit might also take note!
Source
The Lancet 17th July 2004