Don’t you just love the tidbits you pick up through social media?
I couldn’t resist reading this one last evening – an article on how television shortens our life span.
Except of course, it isn’t that TV shortens your life span. There is no causation to that effect; it’s the association – a connection or relationship. Those who spend enormous amounts of time in front of the tube are more likely to exhibit unhealthy lifestyle factors in diet or (lack of) exercise. Another possibility for excessive viewing habits? Depression, of course.
According to this article in USA Today, an Australian study concludes that our lives are shortened by 22 minutes for every hour of television watched after age 25!
TV-Lifestyle Link
Well, that’s not exactly the take-away from the research, if you look deeper.
Here’s the real crux of the matter:
Though a direct link between watching TV and a shortened lifespan is highly provocative, the harms of TV are almost certainly indirect, said Dr. David L. Katz, director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine.
“As a rule, the more time we spend watching TV, the more time we spend eating mindlessly in front of the TV, and the less time we spend being physically active,” Katz said.
So the issue is mindless eating and sedentary lifestyle, and “we now return you to your regularly scheduled programming” – or mine at least – and earlier discussions on America’ obesity epidemic, our need for affordable and accessible healthy foods, not to mention the education to know what to eat, and what to avoid.
And the depression factor? Is that to be minimized?
I can’t help but pontificate on events that lead to depression – unemployment or its second cousins – living job-scared and working around-the-clock, relationships troubles and dare I say it – divorce, the financial woes that frequently result from job loss and matrimonial meltdown. And the dramas of parenting – whether you’re married or single.
Data Data Everywhere
Now, now. I’m not ready to concede 22 minutes of my life for every hour that my boob tube is on, with classic films or Housewives buzzing in the background.
In the evenings, for example, I edit with the television on. I enjoy the voices – and yes – at times I listen and look up. For the most part, television acts for me the way music does for others. It relaxes me and allows me to work longer hours. Now that is what I consider a “root cause” – the need to work longer hours. How many millions of us are caught in that particular trap – doing more for less, trying to cover the costs of supporting a family?
As for depression and its impacts, we have to ask ourselves, is it situational and temporary? Is overeating or inactivity or other “depressive” behavior a logical extension of a trauma, of restrictions due to injury or illness, a coping mechanism in the aftermath of death or divorce and a period of grieving?
Who doesn’t zone out in front of the tube when they’re down? After all, isn’t it a legal form of anesthesia?
Healthy vs Unhealthy – You Decide
Kids and TV?
I believe we do need to model moderation. I certainly parked my children in front of their favorite shows when needed (and for the single parents out there, it’s a lifesaver), but there were plenty of other pursuits, creative time, and outdoor play.
But when it comes to adults (and easy conclusions), shouldn’t we debate root causes for overeating and under-exercising, trotting out distinctions between “causation” and “association?”
Returning to the article in USA Today:
Dr. Robert J. Myerburg, a professor of medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, added that “a sedentary lifestyle can reduce life expectancy.”
In other words – get up, and get moving.
Good advice, but isn’t it oversimplifying?
Bad economy? It drains marriage, sleep, healthy eating, exercise, parenting. Bad marriage? It strains job performance, sleep, healthy eating, exercise, parenting. Money problems and relationship problems, whatever their origin? In my book, that’s a recipe for depression, though surely not the only one.
Watching television? You betcha. But which came first – the chicken or the egg? Free-range chicken? Coddled Egg?
So tell me –
- Do you watch too much television?
- Do you eat mindlessly when you do?
- Do you work or exercise in front of the tube?
- Do you pay attention to the quality of your food, as well as quantity?
Some would argue that I watch too much TV, but what is too much? I have my shows that I like and I follow them regularly mostly because they are serial in nature and not isolated episodes. As for exercise, nothings better than a 1-hour TV show where you walk fast during the show and then run during the commercials. (The luxury have having a real treadmill in my bedroom in front of the TV.)
First of all, eggs came before chickens, because dinosaurs laid eggs.
Second, the illogic that “proves” TV shortens your life also “proves” that drinking milk leads to heroin addiction (because all addicts drank milk.)
On the other hand, the Elizabethans believed that every act of sexual intercourse shortened life by a day, which is undoubtedly true.
Good to know about those Elizabethans, Wolf. Thanks for that. (I learned something. ;))
So… presumably the Victorians had other beliefs concerning sexual intercourse shortening lifespan? After all, didn’t Victoria herself live to a ripe old age, with 9 children if I remember? (Then again, poor Albert died 40 years earlier. Okay. Never mind.)
I too like to work and exercise with a TV on. I probably watch too much TV but stress definitely has a role at least in my life, for the snacking and overeating. Even sitting in an office cubicle without Television, I nosh my stress into the corner.
Depending on the television you choose to watch, it can be educational, stress relieving and or the one laugh that you need in a day filled with job interviews that go nowhere.
So tired of excuses for the obesity epidemic. Forty years ago, fast food was near non-existent, hardly a habit. Exercise was a daily part of regular life, just by living, not gyms. We are in a different time and must make changes accordingly.
What a good point you make about the laughter, Notasoccermom! And yes, we should stop with the excuses, I agree.
I Do eat mindlessly! Especially when watching TV.
It’s easy to do, CoastalHarp. Maybe awareness helps change those habits? (I try very hard to not eat while watching tv.) Nice to have you join us. Hope you do so again!
Some of the new hi-tech TVs add to our geopathic stress, which is not healthy at all. As for the content, everything in moderation, including moderation. (Except for the commercials … better to skip them.)
hello!
we thought we’d drop by and read a while….
1. Do you watch too much television? (we quit TV about six years ago 😉
2. Do you eat mindlessly when you do? (see above)
3. Do you work or exercise in front of the tube? (see above)
4. Do you pay attention to the quality of your food, as well as quantity? (we have a thing about a combination of colours/colors/shades on the plate which seems to give us a delicious quality of produce…..plus we never keep anything in the fridge – it’s a type A executive traveling constantly kind of a life – sigh – quality problems? 😉
hope you’re having a beautiful evening.
much love from team gloria.
We don’t have a working TV. It does take time off your life by taking your life while you’re yet breathing. Turn off the TV and get a life. Of course, I’ve found other ways to waste time. Relaxation can be good, but better with the mind-numbing TV off. I’d suggest more sex and less TV.
Hi there! I never watched as much TV as many of my friends, but I still felt I was watching too much and it was getting in the way of my others goals. I forced myself to reduce the number of shows I TiVo and I found that I hardly missed those shows. I think getting through a list on TiVo and deleted things we’ve watched creates this strange and false sense of accomplishment. However, I CANNOT exercise without the TV on. At least I’m not sedentary then!!
I walk on the treadmill while watching television. I don’t compare myself to people I see on TV nor let the news depress me…most of the time.
When I exercise, am present and mindful I always feel better. Television plays no part in this- it is entirely my responsibility.
I don’t watch a lot of TV, but I do sometimes turn it on in the evenings. As I sit stringing beads or knitting or working on whatever my current passion is. Which I would be doing with or without the TV. If TV is shortening my life, it may be watching the news that’s doing it.