Trade the TV for Activity
Quick! Turn off the television and get to the nearest park for some much-needed activity! According to a study of Australian adults – who watched 9.8 billion hours of TV in 2008 – sitting can lead to a shorter life.
It wasn’t exactly the TV watching that was harmful but that marker indicated a person’s overall sedentary lifestyle and that’s the root of the problem.
Some results posted to the New York Times Well blog:
“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.
Looking more broadly, they concluded that an adult who spends an average of six hours a day watching TV over the course of a lifetime can expect to live 4.8 years fewer than a person who does not watch TV.”
Sure, we could say, “Those people are in Australia” or “What about sitting at work versus watching TV?” Valid points, but the bottom line is a greater need for physical activity. Americans certainly watch their far share of TV and could stand to drop a few pounds.
With 120 parks and green spaces in the city of Charleston, you’ll find a spot where you can go for a walk, a jog, play with the dog or swing with the kids. And here at the Conservancy we have plenty of opportunities for you to garden in the park with us and we can guarantee there’s no sitting!