Increased TV viewing ‘linked to many leading causes of death’

A new study has demonstrated a link between prolonged periods of TV viewing and an elevated mortality risk from many of the most common causes of death.

The US National Cancer Institute research saw researchers examine data from more than 221,000 individuals aged 50 to 71 years who were free of chronic disease at study entry.

Individuals who reported watching three to four hours of television per day were shown to be 15 percent more likely to die from any cause, with those who watched seven or more hours being 47 percent more likely to die over the study period.

Risks began to increase at three to four hours per day for most causes they examined, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, influenza, pneumonia, Parkinson's disease, and liver disease.

The investigators took a number of other factors into consideration that might explain the associations observed – such as caloric and alcohol intake, smoking and the health status of the population – but the associations remained even with these taken into account.

Dr Sarah Keadle of the division of cancer epidemiology and genetics at the National Cancer Institute, said: "Our results fit within a growing body of research indicating that too much sitting can have many different adverse health effects."