| GEO World | | TV can kill, says Australian research | Updated at: 1133 PST, Tuesday, January 12, 2010
SYDNEY: People who spend more than four hours in front of the television each day have a far higher risk of dying early than those who limit their viewing, an Australian study said Tuesday.
Watching the small screen for prolonged periods is also bad for your heart, according to the research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
"Compared to people who watch less than two hours of television per day, people who watch more than four hours per day have a 46 percent higher risk of death from all causes," researcher David Dunstan told foreign news agency. They also have an 80 percent increased risk from cardiovascular disease, he said. Sitting down for long periods stops the body from using its muscles and adequately processing sugars and fats, Dunstan said.
The findings come from a six-year study into the viewing habits of some 8,800 Australians which stripped out the influence of other health factors such as age, sex, smoking, weight and exercise.
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