Every hour of TV viewing reduces lifespan

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BRISBANE, Australia, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- Every hour of television watched after the age of 25 reduced the viewer's life expectancy by nearly 22 minutes, researchers in Australia found.

Study leader Dr. J. Lennert Veerman, a senior research fellow at the University of Queensland, and colleagues used 2008 data from the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study, a survey of the health habits of some 12,000 Australian adults.

The study participants were asked questions about general health, disease status, exercise regimens, smoking and diet.

The survey also asked how many hours per day a study participant watched in the previous week.

The study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, found compared with people who watched no TV, those who spent a lifetime average of 6 hours a day watching TV could expect to live 4.8 years less.