Researchers have uncovered a number of detrimental effects that are brought forth by watching TV. Below are five ways watching TV is killing you.
1. Gives you high cholesterol
Following a study done in 1990 at the university of California, that investigated whether or not watching TV had an effect, had very shocking results.
It found out that children who watched TV had elevated cholesterol levels and were more likely to suffer from heart diseases later in life.
2. Makes You Dumber
A study led by Dina Borzekowski found out that children who watched more than two hours of television a day, scored significantly lower on standardized tests than their counterparts.
More than 900 babies were randomly chosen in New Zealand and were followed until they were 26 years.
3. Lowers Your Sperm Count
A study by Harvard concluded that men with a sedentary lifestyle, especially one that had prolonged television watching, had a sperm counts of 44% lower than men who spent less time in front of the television. The threshold for the lower sperm count levels was 20 hours per week. Basically less than three hours a day.
Conversely, men who exercise at least 14 hours a week had the highest sperm count.
The quality of the sperm itself (i.e. shape and motility) remained unaffected.
The reason television was singled out, according to Jorge Chavarro, the senior author of the study, said the following: “One of the important mechanisms appears to be TV watchers are exposed to commercials for food. That makes you hungry and eat more.”
4. Decreases Language Development
A number of studies have shown that the more babies spend in front of a television, the more slowly they learn to talk.
One study, conducted by the Seattle Children’s Research Institute, followed more than 300 children.
They were fitted with audio recorders, which were worn continuously for 12 to 16 hours.
It was noted that each hour of television contributed to a significant decrease in the amount of words the babies heard. This eventually decreased the amount of vocalization done by the babies, stunting their growth.
5. Kills you early
Watching television can dramatically reduce lifespan, this is according to a study in Australia.
The researchers showed that watching six hours a day can take 4.8 years off your life.
Also, every hour of television watched after age 25 decreases life expectancy by 22 minutes.