Study: TV May Boost Risk of Early Death
Spending a lot of time in front of the TV could increase your risk of early death, a new study suggests. The study found this link only for TV watching. There was no increase in death risk for other things that involve sitting — computer use and driving. The study included more than 13,000 healthy young adults. They were highly educated, slim and active. Their average age was 37. People filled out questionnaires about their activities. In the next 8 years, 97 died. There were 19 deaths from heart disease, 46 from cancer and 32 from other causes. For every 2 extra hours daily spent watching TV, the risk of death from heart disease rose 44%. Risk rose 21% for cancer and 55% for other causes. Researchers tried to account for other factors that might have caused the link. They excluded people who died in the first year of the study.