Estate Planning

Substantial Increase in Death from.....Watching TV?

By Hull & Hull LLP

I came across an article when thinking about blog topics for this week.   It appears that a recent Australian study from the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute in the state of Victoria concluded that watching television can increase risk of death.

The study, published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, followed the lifestyle habits of 8,800 adults who were age 25 or older at the commencement of the study. It was found that each hour spent in front of the TV daily increased the risk of dying earlier from cardiovascular disease, as well as creating a 9% higher risk of cancer related death.

Although the study focused on Television watching, it seems from the publication that the conclusions may be even more related to a sedentary lifestyle. While this may seem like a logical conclusion, this result is to be distinguished from any previous knowledge of the positive effects of a healthy active lifestyle. It appears that we now have evidence which assures us that spending time sitting, particularly in front of the television may cause additional harm to our bodies, even if we generally live an active lifestyle.

I can't personally advocate on behalf of any of the articles to which I've referenced, but what I do know, is if there is any truth to the possibility that television viewing can shorten a life, it seems to be a pretty simple solution to get outside, enjoy the beautiful weekend forecast and go for a walk.

Have a nice weekend, thanks for reading,

Nadia

Full post as published by Toronto Estate Law Blog on January 22, 2010 (boomark / email).