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Well, This Study on Television is Perfectly Terrifying

Well, This Study on Television is Perfectly Terrifying

Television is deadly. A mortifying post in the New York Times’ health blog ups the ante on our nation’s growing war against sitting, because it’s turning out that sitting is actually very dangerous. That’s sort of a crazy assertion to make, but this new study is equally crazy and also, uh-oh, maybe you should read this standing up, running around, drinking in the day.

Using complex actuarial tables and adjusting for smoking, waist circumference, dietary quality, exercise habits and other variables, the scientists were next able to isolate the specific effect that the hours of sitting seemed to be having on people’s life spans. And the findings were sobering: Every single hour of television watched after the age of 25 reduces the viewer’s life expectancy by 21.8 minutes. By comparison, smoking a single cigarette reduces life expectancy by about 11 minutes, the authors said.

Every single hour of television after the age of 25 reduces a life expectancy by 21.8 minutes. But what will you do with your precious, immeasurable years if not watch television? There is just no way to win. So, what will it be? A long life of no television, staring blankly into space at every CSI and Honey Boo Boo reference? Or a shorter life well-versed in CSI and Honey Boo Boo? Go take some time to think it over, but make sure you’re standing up while you do so …

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