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Every hour of TV viewing reduces lifespan

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.

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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.

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